If the NCUA pays $1.36 billion to cover several failed credit unions, and doing so drains its reserve fund by 5.18%, approximately how much was in the fund to begin with?

The $1.36 billion payment represents 5.18% of the reserve fund. Divide the payment by the percentage written as a decimal: $1.36 billion ÷ 0.0518 ≈ $26.3 billion, so the fund initially held approximately $26.3 billion.

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