Infinite Unknown

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- FDIC Reports 27 Percent Jump In Problem US Banks

- FDIC Report: ‘We Were Broke And Getting Broker’

March 6 (Bloomberg) — Regulators shut banks in Maryland, Illinois, Florida and Utah, pushing the number of U.S. failures to 26 this year and placing more pressure on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to dispose of a growing pile of toxic assets.

The FDIC was unable to find buyers for two banks — Centennial Bank in Ogden, Utah, and Waterfield Bank of Germantown, Maryland — according to statements posted on the agency’s Web site. In the largest of yesterday’s failures by assets, Boca Raton, Florida-based Sun American Bank was purchased by First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

“South Florida is a great market for our company, especially with our focus on individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses and the medical community,” Frank B. Holding Jr., chief executive officer of First-Citizens, said in a statement.

Lenders are collapsing at the fastest pace in 17 years amid losses on residential and commercial real estate loans made at the height of the market. U.S. “problem” banks climbed to the highest level since 1992 in the fourth quarter and FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair warned Feb. 23 that the pace of failures will “pick up” and exceed last year’s total of 140. Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC, Sheila Bair, U.S.

The banks are bracing themselves for the coming commercial real estate meltdown:

- US Banks Facing $1.4 Trillion Crisis Over Commercial Real Estate Loans

Expect more than 1000 banks to fail, when the real tsunami hits:

- Bank CEO: 1000 Banks to Fail In Next Two Years

The problem is that the FDIC is broke:

- FDIC insurance fund is now broke, closes quarter $8.2 billion in debt

- FDIC Insuring 8200 Banks with $9 Trillion in Deposits and ZERO in the Deposit Insurance Fund

If the FDIC runs out of money, then Timmy Geithner will surely help!???:

- Obama Signs Law Raising Public Debt Limit from $12.4 Trillion to $14.3 Trillion

- Obama’s $3.8 Trillion Budget: Tax Rise of $1.9 Trillion for Richer Americans, Businesses

The US is totally broke.

What could possibly go wrong?

- Rep. Ron Paul At CPAC 2010: ‘We Are On The Brink Of A Financial Cataclysmic Event.’

WASHINGTON — Regulators shuttered four banks Friday, from Florida to California, as local banks continue to buckle across the country.

Twenty banks have toppled so far in 2010 and 185 have failed since January 2008, with regulators expecting to close dozens more by the end of this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimated the four failures Friday cost its deposit insurance fund more than $1 billion.

The largest bank to fail Friday was the 10-branch La Jolla Bank in California. Its $3.6 billion of assets made it the biggest bank to fail in 2010. The FDIC sold all of La Jolla’s deposits and virtually all of its assets to OneWest FSB, a thrift created last year after investors bought up pieces of the failed IndyMac Bank. The FDIC and OneWest agreed to share future losses on $3.3 billion of the La Jolla Bank’s deposits. Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC, U.S.

Yesterday’s actions cost the fund $1.86 billion, the FDIC said.

Source: BusinessWeek

Regulators shut down banks in 5 states

(WASHINGTON) –Regulators shut down a big bank in California on Friday, along with two banks in Georgia and one each in Florida, Minnesota and Washington. That brought to 15 the number of bank failures so far in 2010 atop the 140 shuttered last year in the punishing economic climate.

The failure of Los Angeles-based First Regional Bank, with nearly $2.2 billion in assets and $1.9 billion in deposits, is expected to cost the federal deposit insurance fund $825.5 million.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the bank as well as the others: First National Bank of Georgia, based in Carrollton, Ga., with $832.6 million in assets and $757.9 million in deposits and Community Bank and Trust of Cornelia, Ga., with $1.2 billion in assets and $1.1 billion in deposits; Florida Community Bank of Immokalee, Fla., with $875.5 million in assets and $795.5 million in deposits; Marshall Bank of Hallock, Minn., with $59.9 million in assets and $54.7 million in deposits; and American Marine Bank of Bainbridge Island, Wash., with $373.2 million in assets and $308.5 million in deposits. Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC, U.S.

And the FDIC is broke.

Regulators seized five banks in Florida, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, lifting the total number of failures this year to nine as financial institutions struggle with loan defaults and a weak economy.

Two of the five institutions had assets of more than $1 billion. The Florida bank, in Miami, was sold to an investment group that includes former North Fork Bancorp Chief Financial Officer Dan Healy. The deposits and assets of the New Mexico bank went to Texas billionaire Andrew Beal.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimated the Friday closings will cost the agency’s cash-strapped deposit-insurance fund a total of $531.7 million.

Since 2008, regulators have shut down 174 banks, and the expectation is that failures will continue to accelerate in 2010 amid heightened regulatory scrutiny. FDIC Chair Sheila Bair has predicted that failures will “peak” this year and then “subside.” Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC, U.S.

WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators closed Horizon Bank (HRZB.O) of Bellingham, Washington, on Friday, kicking off what has been forecast as a peak year for small bank failures.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said Horizon Bank had approximately $1.3 billion in total assets and $1.1 billion in total deposits as Sept. 30.

Friday’s bank failure is expected to cost the FDIC’s insurance fund a total of $539.1 million.

The 18 branches of Horizon Bank will reopen during their normal business hours beginning on Saturday as branches of Washington Federal Savings and Loan Association and deposits will continued to be insured by the FDIC.

Community banks are facing persistent pressure from deteriorating loans, many tied to commercial real estate projects that have collapsed or are in decline.

Regulators closed 140 banks last year, the highest level since 1992 when officials were still cleaning up from the savings and loan crisis. That compares with 25 in 2008 and only three in 2007.

Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC, Sheila Bair, U.S.

Related articles:

- FDIC insurance fund is now broke, closes quarter $8.2 billion in debt

- FDIC Insuring 8200 Banks with $9 Trillion in Deposits and ZERO in the Deposit Insurance Fund

If the FDIC runs out of money, then Timmy will surely help:

- US National Debt Tops Debt Limit

Let’s see what happens if 500 (or even 1000) banks will fail in 2010:

- Bank CEO: 1000 Banks to Fail In Next Two Years

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — Seven U.S. banks were seized by regulators, bringing this year’s total of failed lenders to 140 as financial companies are tested by the recession and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. anticipates more shutdowns.

Banks with $14.4 billion in total assets were closed yesterday in six U.S. states, the FDIC said in statements on its Web site. The agency is overseeing the dissolution of banks at the fastest pace in 17 years.

Two of the closures were in California. The assets and deposits of Federal Bank of California in Santa Monica were bought by closely held OneWest Bank, which acquired IndyMac Federal Bank this year. Imperial Capital Bank was bought by City National Corp., the Beverly Hills-based parent of City National Bank, which expanded in Southern California with the purchase.

“Imperial Capital Bank is a very good fit for City National, given that eight of its nine locations are in communities we serve,” City National Chief Executive Officer Russell Goldsmith said in a statement. “We’re pleased to contribute to the increased stability of the banking system.”

Federal Bank was the biggest lender seized yesterday, with $6.1 billion of assets and $4.5 billion in deposits, according to the FDIC. Based in La Jolla, Imperial Capital had assets of $4 billion and $2.8 billion in deposits.

Earlier this week, the FDIC boosted its 2010 budget by 56 percent to $4 billion to manage further shutdowns. The total budget will increase from $2.6 billion and the set-aside for bank failures doubles to $2.5 billion over this year, according to a proposal approved by the FDIC board. The agency staff will increase to 8,653 next year from 7,010 this year.

‘Larger Number’ of Failures

The budget “will ensure that we are prepared to handle an ever-larger number of bank failures next year, if that becomes necessary,” FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said in a statement. Yesterday’s bank closings will cost the agency about $1.8 billion, according to the FDIC statements.

Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC, Sheila Bair

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- FDIC insurance fund is now broke, closes quarter $8.2 billion in debt
- FDIC Insuring 8200 Banks with $9 Trillion in Deposits and ZERO in the Deposit Insurance Fund

Regulators close regional banks in Florida, Kansas and Arizona, at a cost of $252.1 million to the FDIC.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Regulators closed regional banks in three U.S. states Friday, bringing the total number of failed banks this year to 133, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.

Customers of the failed banks are protected. The FDIC, which has insured bank deposits since the Great Depression, currently covers accounts up to $250,000.

Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC, U.S.

Related article: Big California bank fails, has China branches (Reuters)

WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators closed five more banks on Friday, reaching 120 for the year, as souring loans and the lingering effects of last year’s financial crisis continued to weigh on the nation’s financial institutions.

San Francisco-based United Commercial Bank became the fifth and largest bank to be taken over by regulators on Friday evening, as annual failures hit levels not seen since the savings and loan crisis of the early 1990s. There were 25 bank failures in 2008, and three in 2007.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a release that East West Bank of Pasadena, Calif., would take over United Commercial’s roughly $7.5 billion in deposits, as well as $10.2 billion in assets. The deal includes all of United Commercial’s branches in the U.S., a branch in Hong Kong, and a subsidiary headquartered in Shanghai, China.

The agency said that it would continue to protect the bank’s domestic deposits, while Hong Kong deposits would be covered by the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Scheme. U.S. regulators are also working with their counterparts in China on the bank’s operations in that country, the agency said.

The failure is estimated to cost the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund an estimated $1.4 billion. That’s represents a significant hit for the fund, which has come under increasing pressure this year as failure costs have topped the agency’s initial loss projections. Federal regulators are currently considering a proposal that would have U.S. banks pay three years worth of premiums in advance in order to raise $45 billion to provide more liquidity to the fund.

Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC

- FDIC Insuring 8200 Banks with $9 Trillion in Deposits and ZERO in the Deposit Insurance Fund.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Nine more U.S. banks, all owned by the same Illinois holding company, were closed Friday by regulators, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said U.S. Bank of Minneapolis would assume their deposits.

The closings brought the total to 115 in 2009 — the first year since 1992 that more than 100 banks have gone under.

The banks as of Sept. 30 had combined assets of $19.4 billion and deposits of $15.4 billion, the FDIC said.

The deposit insurance fund will take an estimated $2.5 billion hit, the FDIC said.

All nine banks were subsidiaries of FBOP Corp., a holding company based in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Ill., according to the FDIC.

Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC, U.S.

Banks in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin, were shuttered, costing the FDIC an estimated $356.6 million.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The tally of bank failures easily broke past the No. 100 milestone on Friday night, with regulators announcing the year’s 106th closure.

That’s more than four times the number that were closed in 2008, and the highest total since 1992, when 181 banks failed.

Earlier on Friday evening the dubious honor of the 100th failure went to Partners Bank, of Naples, Fla., which had $65.5 million in assets, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The 101st failure was American United Bank, of Lawrenceville, Ga., which had $111 million in assets.

The 102nd failure was another Naples, Fla., institution: Hillcrest Bank Florida, which had $83 million in assets.

The 103rd closure was Bradenton, Fla.-based Flagship National Bank, with $190 million in assets.

The 104th was Bank of Elmwood, based in Racine, Wis., which had $327.4 million in assets.

The 105th failure was Riverview Community Bank of Otsego, Minn., with $108 million in assets.

The 106th failure was First Dupage Bank in Westmont, Ill., which had $279 million in assets.

Continue reading »

Tags: Bank Failure, Banks, Economy, FDIC, U.S.