The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.‘s deposit insurance fund hit positive territory in the second quarter after spending seven quarters in the red. The fund covers losses from bank failures. Right now, the agency estimates the coming five-year period, stretching from 2011 to 2015, will cost the DIF fund $19 billion in losses — significantly lower than the $23 billion spent in 2010 alone. The FDIC noted Tuesday that the DIF entered positive territory in the second quarter, reaching $3.9 billion at the end of June. The balance increased almost $25 billion from its low point of negative $20.9 billion two years ago. “The assessment that the insurance fund remains on the path to recovery and on track to meet the goals established by Congress is welcome news,” said Acting FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg. “As we seek to stay on track, it’s important to always be mindful of the challenges we face and ongoing risks to the insurance fund.” Overall, bank failures are slowing down when compared to 2009 and 2010. Trepp analytics reported Tuesday that six banks failed last month — down from seven in August — bringing the number of bank failures to 74 in 2011. Nearly 300 financial institutions failed in 2009 and 2010 combined. Write to Kerri Panchuk.