The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is experimenting with different structures for its sales of failed banks, as the economy recovers and commercial real estate is increasingly a driver of collapses, the head of the agency said Monday.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said the agency is exploring securitizing failed bank assets and other techniques to drum up interest in troubled banks and to ensure the FDIC gets the maximum return.

"We want to get a little more innovative," Bair said at a Women in Finance Symposium at the Treasury Department.