US sees 90 bank failures in just seven months

NEW YORK: The US banking system continues to wobble under financial woes, with 13 banks on an average going belly up every month in 2010.

Notwithstanding the slow economic recovery, more banks are expected to fold up in coming months, especially due to high unemployment rate, which is hovering over nine per cent.

So far this year, 90 banks have been shut down by the authorities, which translates to an average of around 13 failures every month.

Four entities including Home National Bank, Bay National Bank, USA Bank and Ideal Federal Savings Bank, failed on July 9.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures deposits at over 8,000 banks, these failures would cost the agency more than USD 81 million.

The jobless rate in the world's largest economy stood at 9.5 per cent in June. High unemployment has resulted in rising defaults, primarily hitting small and medium banks.

In May and June, 22 banks bit the dust while the count of collapses had touched 23 in April, the highest for any month this year. Official figures show that 41 banks were closed down in the 2010 first quarter.

Going by the FDIC, the count of 'problem' banks -- those at risk of failing -- climbed to 775, the highest in nearly 17 years, in the first three months of 2010. The figure was at just 702 at the end of last year.

Last year, a whopping 140 banks went out of business. Recently, FDIC chairperson Sheila C Bair had warned of more bank failures since the banking system was facing many problems.