Four US Banks Shut Down By Federal Regulators

By: Jennifer Hong
03/06/2010 07:34 PM ET

US banks in four states have been shut down by regulators in Maryland, Illinois, Florida and Utah. The bank closures are putting increased pressure on the FDIC to try and dispose off the mounting toxic assets. The agency was not able to find any potential buyers for two of the banks – Centennial Bank in Ogden, Utah, and Waterfield Bank of Germantown, Maryland.

The largest of the four, Sun American, had $535.7 million in assets and $443.5 million in deposits. It will reopen Monday under the name First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co., which is to assume its deposits and assets. Waterfield Bank had gotten $156.4 million in deposits and closed with $155.6 million in assets.

The Bank of Illinois, with $211.7 million in assets, will reopen under an agreement between the FDIC and Heartland Bank & Trust Co. in Bloomington. With two branches, the bank had $211.7 million in assets and $198.5 million in deposits. The Utah Department of Financial Institutions appointed the FDIC as a receiver for Centennial Bank, which had $215.2 million in assets and $205.1 million in deposits.

Financial Institutions To Reveal Credit Scores

Credit scores of financial institutions will soon become widely available to consumers. The scores are those closely guarded three-digit numbers that determine how much money Americans can borrow and at what cost. FICO, the company that develops the most popular type of US credit score, is pushing large lenders such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo to share the information with their customers.

Reports have revealed that lenders are now failing at the fastest pace in 17 long years. It is mostly caused by the downward economy. In fact, most lenders are still losing from residential and commercial real estate loans.

Follow Us