Free Republic

United Commercial Bank, a big San Francisco bank with branches in China, was closed by state regulators on Friday and its banking operations were acquired by East West Bancorp Inc, also active in both nations. East West (EWBC.O) said the transaction made it the second-largest independent bank in California. Based in Pasadena, East West has 137 U.S. branches, including offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston and Seattle, and four in China.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a big number that only tells part of the story. The number of banks that have failed so far this year topped 100 on Friday — hitting 106 by the end of the day — the most in nearly two decades. But the trouble in the banking system from bad loans and the recession goes even deeper. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other banks remain open even though they are as weak as many that have been shuttered. Regulators are seizing banks slowly and selectively — partly to avoid inciting panic and partly because buyers for bad...

Regulators have shut Warren Bank in Warren, Mich., and two small banks in Colorado and Minnesota, boosting the number of failed U.S. banks this year to 98 as loan defaults rise in the worst financial climate in decades. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over Warren Bank, with about $538 million in assets and $501 million in deposits as of July 31. The Huntington National Bank, based in Columbus, Ohio, agreed to assume the deposits and about $83 million of the assets of the failed bank. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition. Warren Bank's six branches...

The International Monetary Fund is open to a plan that would see banks contribute to an insurance policy against a future economic collapse, the agency revealed on Friday. "Considering that the financial sector is creating a lot of systemic risk for the global economy," said the fund's managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, "it is just fair that such a sector would pay some part of its resources to help mitigate the risks that they are creating."

My mother would have understood the implications of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent announcement that it is requiring U.S. banks to collectively remit advance payment of some $45 billion in future deposit insurance premiums. As a grade-schooler, I had to clear big purchases with her, even if the cash came from my own piggy bank. "I'll pay for it with my own money," I'd plead when she vetoed some imprudent outlay. "It's still all gotta come out of this one old farm," she would reply. Banks may write the checks for FDIC premiums, but the money really has to...

Georgian Bank, Atlanta, Georgia, was closed today by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with First Citizens Bank and Trust Company, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina, to assume all of the deposits of Georgian Bank. The five branches of Georgian Bank will reopen on Monday as branches of First Citizens Bank. Depositors of Georgian Bank will automatically become depositors of First Citizens Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need...

Regulators close subsidiaries of Irwin Financial Corporation in Kentucky and Indiana at a cost of $850 million to the FDIC. BY BEN ROONEY NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Regulators closed subsidiaries of Irwin Financial Corporation in Kentucky and Indiana Friday, bringing the total number of bank failures this year to 94, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The U.S. added two more banks to its growing list of bank failures Friday, bringing the tally for the year to 91. Regulators shut down Chicago-based Corus Bank (CORS: 0.26, -0.0702, -21.26%) – the second largest bank to fail this year – and turned most of its assets over to MB Financial (MBFI: 17.03, 0.52, 3.15%). The bank, which did much of its business in commercial real-estate loans, had $7 billion in assets and $7 billion in deposits as of June 30, according to a statement issued by the FDIC. The cost to the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund is estimated...

U.S. regulators seized Corus Bank on Friday in the fourth-largest bank failure this year and sold its deposits to MB Financial Bank (MBFI.O). Long controlled by the Glickman family, Chicago-based Corus Bank crumbled under the pressure of bad loans on commercial real estate and condominium developments in Arizona, southern California, southern Florida and Nevada. The seizure of Corus and the failure of two smaller banks announced on Friday brought to 92 the number of shuttered banks in 2009.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Regulators closed Chicago-based Corus Bank N.A. and Woodbury, Minn.-based Brickwell Community Bank on Friday, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 91 and costing the federal deposit-insurance fund more than $1.7 billion as the credit crisis continues claiming victims.

Regulators close banks in Arizona, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. BY AMY HAIMERI NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Five small regional banks were closed by regulators on Friday evening, pushing 2009's tally so far to 88 institutions. Of the five failures, two were in Illinois, and there was one each in Arizona, Iowa and Missouri.

For months rumours of share-ramping, market manipulation, excessive loans to their owners and unusual transfers off-shore have been circling Kaupthing, Glitnir and Landsbanki, whose failure last October left 300,000 British customers unable to access their money. It has now become clear that this was no ordinary crash. Iceland's special investigation into "suspicions of criminal activity" at the three banks is likely to stretch from Reykjavik to London, Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands.

<p>The largest of Friday's three closures announced by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was Affinity Bank, based in Ventura, Calif.</p> <p>Affinity, which had total assets of $1 billion, deposits of $922 million and 10 branches in Northern and Southern California as of July 10, will be taken over by San Diego-based Pacific Western Bank, the FDIC announced.</p>

WASHINGTON – The government insurance fund that protects more than $4.5 trillion in U.S. bank deposits fell to just $10.4 billion at the end of June, as the banking industry continues to struggle with souring loans. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. fund is at its lowest level since mid-1993, during the savings-and-loan crisis. That makes it likely that the government will have to charge banks another special fee to recapitalize its reserves. Officials could also consider borrowing up to $100 billion from the Treasury Department, but they have avoided this option so far.

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission to explain why it didn't pursue allegations that Bank of America Corp. executives lied in a proxy statement about bonuses for Merrill Lynch employees.

On Friday, August 21, 2009, ebank, Atlanta, GA was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.

A large Spanish bank has won the bidding for Austin-based Guaranty Financial Group, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News. Federal regulators who have essentially been running Guaranty in recent months have chosen Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria as the buyer. The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News both said that regulators had chosen BBVA, citing unnamed sources close to the negotiations. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is expected to make the announcement Friday. Under the expected scenario, the FDIC will seize Guaranty, then sell most or all of it to BBVA. Guaranty’s financial condition has been deteriorating for...

Bank regulators have a Texas-sized problem on their hands -- though it's easy to see much of the trouble resides farther west. Guaranty Bank, an Austin-based savings institution with $13.5 billion in assets, is expected to be seized by the FDIC by the end of the week. According to multiple reports late Wednesday, Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (BBV) has won the bidding for Guaranty.

US banking regulators have asked prospective buyers of Guaranty Financial, a struggling Texas bank with $14bn in assets, to submit bids for the group by Monday, according to people close to the matter. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is helping to manage the attempted sale of Guaranty, which last month said it was likely to join the lengthening list of banks that have failed this year. EDITOR’S CHOICE In depth: US banks - Dec-12 US regulators close Colonial - Aug-15 Colonial BancGroup caught up in probe - Aug-05 Banks make $38bn from overdraft fees - Aug-09 Guaranty’s fate has become...

AN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Colonial BancGroup Inc. became the largest bank failure this year after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized the struggling Alabama-based lender Friday and sold it to BB&T Corp. Late Friday, the FDIC announced four other banks had been closed: Community Bank of Las Vegas and its Arizona subsidiary, Community Bank of Arizona; Union Bank, Gilbert, Ariz; and Dwelling House Savings and Loan, Pittsburgh. The Colonial BancGroup deal will knock roughly $2.8 billion off a pool of money, known as the Deposit Insurance Fund, which the FDIC maintains to guarantee bank customer deposits. BB&T /quotes/comstock/13*!bbt/quotes/nls/bbt (BBT 28.23,...