Banks- Easy Profits

Today the quest for yield, any kind of "safe" yield, goes on and on. The Fed has taken short rates down to zero. This allows the banks to borrow at extremely low rates and then to buy Treasury bonds at yields near to 4% . This allows the banks to accumulate fat, almost risk free, income. Thus the Fed has taken care of its own. The big banks are flush with cash again. And all the while Americans are gasping for income like fish out of water. Leading bankers are making more money than ever, while the poor slob on the street is lying awake at night wondering how he's going to make the overdue payment on his home. Of course, his home is "underwater," since his home is worth less than his mortgage.

U.S. bank failure tally hits 99 for 2009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One more U.S. bank was shuttered on Friday, as the tally of failures so far this year inched closer to 100.

The pace of bank failures has picked up sharply this year as the industry continues to work through bad loans that were made during the credit boom.

On Friday regulators closed San Joaquin Bank of Bakersfield, California. It was the 99th U.S. bank failure of 2009.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which was named receiver, said San Joaquin had $775 million in assets and $631 million in deposits.

Citizens Business Bank of Ontario, Calif., agreed to assume all deposits of San Joaquin, whose five branches will reopen on Monday as branches of Citizens Business Bank.

The failure is expected to cost the FDIC's insurance fund a total of $103 million.

U.S. bank failures have not reached the 100 mark since 1992 during the savings and loan crisis when 181 institutions were closed. In 1989, during the height of the savings and loan crisis, 534 banks failed.

Bank failures have drained the fund's balance, which turned negative at the end of the third quarter.

The FDIC, which insures accounts up to $250,000, has proposed a plan to boost its liquidity by having banks prepay three years of regular assessments.

The agency is expecting bank failures to cost the insurance fund about $100 billion from 2009-2013, and said failures will remain elevated this year and next.

The pace of bank failures is expected to remain rapid as banks' woes migrate from deteriorating subprime loans to commercial real estate loans.

The size of the failures, however, has dramatically decreased from last year, when panic in the financial markets caused many firms to topple or receive government bailouts.

"These are like aftershocks compared to the earthquakes we experienced in 2008," said Andrew Kuritzkes, a partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

The largest bank failure of the current crisis was Washington Mutual, which was closed in September 2008, and had assets of $307 billion.

Other large banks, such as Wachovia, were sold when they ran into severe distress, and other financial firms received massive taxpayer bailouts, such as American International Group, which received government commitments of up to $182.5 billion.

COMMERCIAL LOANS LOOMING

Bank regulators sounded the alarm this week about the commercial real estate (CRE) sector, telling a Senate banking subcommittee that it represents the "greatest challenge" facing banks.

Officials are close to finalizing guidance that would encourage banks to recognize potential losses in their commercial real estate portfolios and not simply renew troubled loans to delay loss recognition.

"Prices for both existing commercial properties and for land... have declined sharply in the first half of this year, suggesting that banks are vulnerable to significant further deterioration in their CRE loans," U.S. Federal Reserve Board Governor Daniel Tarullo told the Senate panel on Wednesday.

As of June, commercial real estate loans totaled more than $1 trillion, or 14.2 percent of all loans and leases in the banking industry, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said at the same hearing.

She said that area will increasingly be a driver for bank failures during the remainder of this year and 2010.

Petrasic said it is largely community banks, not national banks, that have significant commercial real estate exposures that will continue to spiral downward in value.

"It will absolutely be the most critical factor going forward," he said.

(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski and Ayesha Rascoe)

FDIC In the RED - 98 Failures this year

Three bank failures on Friday brought the total number of FDIC-insured institutions that have failed this year to 98. The estimated cost to the FDIC’s insurance fund for Friday’s failures was $293.3 million.

On Tuesday, FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair acknowledged that the agency’s deposit fund would likely fall into the red within the week. Bair proposed a plan [2] to shore up the fund. Under the plan, banks would prepay their annual assessments owed to the FDIC. Payments that would normally stretch through 2012 would all be handed over this year. The plan would raise $45 billion. To avoid a hit on their earnings from the payments, banks would be allowed to record the prepayment as if they paid on the usual yearly schedule.

http://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/bank/index.html

FDIC Bank Closures June '09

JUNE 09 Bank Closures

Mirae Bank, Los Angeles, California, with approximately $456 million in assets, was closed. Wilshire State Bank, Los Angeles, California, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $362 million). (PR-105-2009)

MetroPacific Bank, Irvine, California, with approximately $80 million in assets, was closed. Sunwest Bank, Tustin, California, has agreed to assume all non-brokered deposits (approximately $73 million). (PR-104-2009)

Horizon Bank, Pine City, Minnesota, with approximately $87.6 million in assets, was closed. Stearns Bank N.A., St. Cloud, Minnesota, has agreed to assume all deposits, excluding certain brokered deposits (approximately $69.4 million). (PR-103-2009)

Neighbor Community Bank, Newnan, Georgia, with approximately $221.6 million in assets, was closed. CharterBank, West Point, Georgia, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $191.3 million). (PR-102-2009)

Community Bank of West Georgia, Villa Rica, Georgia, with approximately $199.4 million in assets and approximately $182.5 million in deposits was approved for payout by the FDIC Board of Directors. (PR-101-2009)

First National Bank of Anthony, Anthony, Kansas, with approximately $156.9 million in assets, was closed. Bank of Kansas, South Hutchinson, Kansas, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $142.5 million). (PR-96-2009)

Cooperative Bank, Wilmington, North Carolina, with approximately $970 million in assets, was closed. First Bank, Troy, North Carolina, has agreed to assume all deposits, excluding certain brokered deposits (approximately $774 million). (PR-95-2009)

Southern Community Bank, Fayetteville, Georgia, with approximately $377 million in assets, was closed. United Community Bank, Blairsville, Georgia, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $307 million). (PR-94-2009)

Bank of Lincolnwood, Lincolnwood, Illinois, with approximately $214 million in assets, was closed. Republic Bank of Chicago, Oak Brook, Illinois, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $202 million).
(PR-86-2009)

Bank Failures - May 1, 2009

The list of Bank Failures and Assistance Transactions is updated May 1, 2009.

America West Bank, Layton, Utah, with approximately $299.4 million in assets, was closed. Cache Valley Bank, Logan, Utah, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $284.1 million).
(PR-63-2009)

Citizens Community Bank, Ridgewood, New Jersey, with approximately $45.1 million in assets, was closed. North Jersey Community Bank, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $43.7 million). (PR-62-2009)

Silverton Bank, N.A., Atlanta, Georgia, with approximately $4.1 billion in assets and $3.3 billion in deposits was closed. The FDIC created a bridge bank, Silverton Bridge Bank, N.A., to take over operations. (PR-61-2009)

http://www.accesstradingmgmt.com/index.html

27 Bank Closures 2009 4months

27 Bank Closures total First Four months 2009

The list of Bank Failures and Assistance Transactions is updated through April 24, 2009.
April 2009

Michigan Heritage Bank, Farmington Hills, Michigan, with approximately $184.6 million in assets, was closed. Level One Bank, Farmington Hills, Michigan, has agreed to assume all deposits, excluding certain brokered deposits (approximately $151.7 million). (PR-58-2009)

American Southern Bank, Kennesaw, Georgia, with approximately $112.3 million in assets and approximately $104.3 in deposits was closed. Bank of North Georgia, Alpharetta, Georgia, has agreed to assume all non-brokered deposits. (PR-57-2009)

Great Basin Bank of Nevada, Elko, Nevada, with approximately $270.9 million in assets, was closed. Nevada State Bank, Las Vegas, Nevada, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $241.4 million). (PR-55-2009)

American Sterling Bank, Sugar Creek, Missouri, with approximately $181 million in assets was closed. Metcalf Bank, Lee's Summit, Missouri, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $171.9 million). (PR-54-2009)

New Frontier Bank, Greeley, Colorado, with approximately $2.0 billion in assets and approximately $1.5 billion in deposits was closed. Deposit Insurance National Bank of Greeley, Greeley, Colorado has agreed to assume the non-brokered insured deposits. (PR-53-2009)

Cape Fear Bank, Wilmington, North Carolina, with approximately $492 million in assets, was closed. First Federal Savings and Loan Association, Charleston, South Carolina, has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $403 million). (PR-52-2009)
((http://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/bank/index.html))

DEBT Crisis: The Bail Out and Tarp Totals

Access Trading Management

Dennis Kucinich - Racketeering on Wall Street

http://www.accesstradingmgmt.com/index.html

Failed US banks - Seized

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and state regulators seized Los Angeles-based Security Pacific Bank late Friday -- one of two banks to fail that day and the 19th to fail so far this year. Pacific Western Bank, also based in Los Angeles, will assume all of the deposits of Security Pacific, the FDIC said in a statement.
The four branches of Security Pacific will reopen on Monday as branches of Pacific Western. Depositors of the failed bank will automatically become depositors of Pacific Western. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC.
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $210 million. Pacific Western's acquisition of all deposits was the "least costly" resolution for the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund compared to alternatives, according to the statement. Security Pacific is the third bank to fail in California this year.

Houston-based Franklin Bank S.S.B. was closed by regulators Friday, the 18th bank failure this year amid the ongoing credit crisis. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said in a statement that Franklin Bank (FBTX) had total assets of $5.1 billion as of Sept. 30 and $3.7 billion in total deposits.
El Campo, Texas-based Prosperity Bank will assume Franklin Bank's deposits for a premium of 1.7%, and Franklin's 46 offices will reopen as Prosperity branches, the FDIC said.
In addition, Prosperity Bank will purchase roughly $850 million of Franklin Bank's assets, according to the regulator.
The FDIC estimated that Franklin Bank's failure will cost its Deposit Insurance Fund between $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion. Shares of Franklin Bank slid more than 80% lower in after-hours trading, to $0.04 cents.

http://www.accesstradingmgmt.com/index.html