FDIC Friday: Bank Failures Now 105 for 2009
October 23rd, 2009Via: CNN:
The tally of bank failures easily broke past the No. 100 milestone on Friday night, with regulators announcing the year’s 105th 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.
Customers of all six banks are protected, however. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which has insured bank deposits since the Great Depression, covers customer accounts up to $250,000. This is funded through premiums paid by member banks.
In fact, to reassure borrowers, FDIC chair Sheila Bair posted a video message to the agency’s Web site, saying “for the insured depositor, a bank failure is a non-event.”
Still, Bair cautioned that “until the healing process is complete, there will be more bank failures.”
