After an outcry by small community banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., announced last week that big banks would have to pay a larger share of the FDIC levy.

The FDIC fund, which covers bank deposits against loss, is being drained by the failure of many banks.

The five-member FDIC board voted to collect an additional $5.6 billion from the industry, raising the total annual bill to $17.6 billion, the Washington Post reported.

And in a controversial move, the board also voted to charge the largest banks — those with at least $100 billion in assets — about $500 million more of the assessment than it previously planned, said the Post.

FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair said big banks should shoulder more of the burden because of their role in causing the country’s current financial crisis.

Small banks celebrated the decision, saying the majority of federal rescue funds are going to large banks.