Bank Failure Rate Accelerating Much Worse Than in 2009

This is not good news

It could be argued that the market is surviving only the fittest and weeding out the weak, or in this case, all of those who bet on risks that turned bad, while others can argue that the market is poor all the way around no matter what industry. We’ve been watching the banking industry as an economic indicator and are astonished at how the recession has impacted the sector.

In 2007, only 3 banks were on the FDIC’s bank failure list (aka the FDIC shut down their operations), in 2008 there were 25 banks closed, but 2009 ended with 130 banks failed! If that isn’t startling, note that by March 3 of 2009, 16 banks had closed, but as of today, 22 banks have closed in 2010, a 37.5% acceleration rate over 2009. If the current rate of bank failures continues, 2010 could see over 178 failed banks.

Which banks have been shut down in 2010 so far?

1. 01/08- Horizon Bank, Bellingham, WA
2. 01/15- Barnes Banking Company, Kaysville, UT
3. 01/15- St. Stephen State Bank, St. Stephen, MN
4. 01/15- Town Community Bank & Trust, Antioch, IL
5. 01/22- Bank of Leeton, Leeton, MO
6. 01/22- Evergreen Bank, Seattle, WA
7. 01/22- Charter Bank, Santa Fe, NM
8. 01/22- Columbia River Bank, The Dalles, OR
9. 01/22- Premier American Bank, Miami, FL
10. 01/29- First Regional Bank, Los Angeles, CA
11. 01/29- American Maine Bank, Bainbridge Island, WA
12. 01/29- First National Bank of Georgia, Carrollton, GA
13. 01/29- Florida Community Bank, Immokalee, FL
14. 01/29- Marshall Bank, N.A., Hallock, MN
15. 01/29- Community Bank & Trust, Cornelia, GA
16. 02/05- 1st American State Bank of Minnesota, Hancock, MN
17. 02/19- George Washington Savings Bank, Orland Park, IL
18. 02/19- La Jolla Bank, FSB, La Jolla, CA
19. 02/19- Marco Community Bank, Marco Island, FL
20. 02/19- The La Cost National bank, La Cost, TX
21. 02/26- Rainier Pacific Bank, Tacoma, WA
22. 02/26- Carson River Community Bank, Carson City, NV

Want to know how your state is faring? Check out our breakdown of closures by state:

What now?

Forecasting failed banks is difficult, according to Ben Goheen, Realtor and Appraiser with Bridge Realty in Stillwater, MN. “Banktracker is tracking the troubled asset ratio of these banks. This is gathered from public information that banks submit to the FDIC every quarter,” said Goheen. “The FDIC doesn’t make the list of banks they’re going to shut down available to the public, so this is the best resource of how safe any lending institution is.”

Goheen wrote about the FDIC closing banks and at the time wrote, “the FDIC sees this as more of a short-term problem.”

Could this be so? Time will tell, but it’s a tricky economic health indicator to monitor due to closed doors.

UPDATE: to round out the third quarter, March saw a slew of bank closures as listed below but not accounted for in the stats graphic above:

1. 03/05- Centennial Bank, Ogden, UT
2. 03/05- Waterfield Bank, Germantown, MD
3. 03/05- Sun American Bank, Boca Raton, FL
4. 03/05- Bank of Illinois, Normal, IL
5. 03/11- LibertyPointe Bank, New York, NY
6. 03/12- Statewide Bank, Covington, LA
7. 03/12- The Park Avenue Bank, New York, NY
8. 03/12- Old Southern Bank, Orlando, FL
9. 03/19- State Bank of Aurora, Aurora, MN
10. 03/19- First Lowndes Bank, Fort Deposit, AL
11. 03/19- Bank of Hiawassee, Hiawassee, GA
12. 03/19- Advanta Bank Corp, Draper, UT
13. 03/19- American National Bank, Parma, OH
14. 03/19- Century Security Bank, Duluth, GA
15. 03/19- Appalachian Community Bank, Elijay, GA
16. 03/26- Key West Bank, Key West, FL
17. 03/26- Unity National Bank, Cartersville, GA
18. 03/26- Desert Hills Bank, Phoenix, AZ
19. 03/26- McIntosh Commercial Bank, Carrollton, GA