7 Banks Fail Across The Nation... Oh Goodie

If you think things are getting better, think again.. 2010 is on pace to be worse for bank failures than 2008 and 2009.


http://yhoo.it/9IFh4F

Here are a few excerpts from the article...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Regulators on Friday shut down a total of seven banks in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas and Arizona, lifting to 139 the number of U.S. banks that have fallen this year as soured loans have mounted and the economy has sputtered.

Also shuttered were First Bank of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Fla., with $81 million in assets; Progress Bank of Florida, based in Tampa, with $110.7 million in assets; First National Bank of Barnesville in Barnesville, Ga., with $131.4 million in assets; Gordon Bank of Gordon, Ga., with $29.4 million in assets; First Suburban National Bank in Maywood, Ill., with $148.7 million in assets; and First Arizona Savings, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., with assets of $272.2 million.

Ameris Bank, based in Moultrie, Ga., agreed to assume the assets and deposits of First Bank of Jacksonville. Bay Cities Bank, based in Tampa, is buying the assets and deposits of Progress Bank.
United Bank, based in Zebulon, Ga., is assuming the assets and deposits of First National Bank of Barnesville, while Morris Bank of Dublin, Ga., is assuming the deposits and $11.5 million of the assets of Gordon Bank. The FDIC will retain the rest for eventual sale. Seaway Bank and Trust Co., based in Chicago, is assuming the assets and deposits of First Suburban National Bank.

The FDIC was unable to find a buyer for First Arizona Savings, and it approved the payout of the bank's insured deposits. The agency said it will mail checks to depositors for their insured funds on Monday.
In addition, the FDIC and Ameris Bank agreed to share losses on $60 million of First Bank of Jacksonville's loans and other assets. The FDIC and Bay Cities Bank are sharing losses on $82.6 million of Progress Bank of Florida's assets, while the agency and United Bank are sharing losses on $107.3 million of First National Bank of Barnesville's assets.

Florida, Georgia and Illinois are among the states hardest hit by bank collapses, stemming from the meltdown in the real estate market that brought an avalanche of soured mortgage loans. The shutdowns Friday brought the number of bank failures in Florida this year to 27, and to 16 each for Georgia and Illinois.
With 139 closures nationwide so far this year, the pace of bank failures exceeds that of 2009, which was already a brisk year for shutdowns with a total of 140. By this time last year, regulators had closed 106 banks.

The pace has accelerated as banks' losses mount on loans made for commercial property and development. Many companies have shut down in the recession, vacating shopping malls and office buildings financed by the loans. That has brought delinquent loan payments and defaults by commercial developers.
The 2009 total of bank failures was the highest annual tally since 1992, at the height of the savings and loan crisis. The 2009 failures cost the insurance fund more than $30 billion. Twenty-five banks failed in 2008, the year the financial crisis struck with force; only three succumbed in 2007.

The growing bank failures have sapped billions of dollars out of the deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red last year, and its deficit stood at $15.2 billion as of June 30.