19 American banks go bust in ’08

Ravaged by the financial turmoil, the world’s largest economy, the US,
has this year seen the failure of as many as 19 banks - exactly half
the number of all publicly-listed banks in India.
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the US
regulatory body, which is often appointed as the receiver for failed
banks, the number of bank-failures in the past eight years has grown
to 46 - which is more than the total of 38 banks listed on the Indian
bourses.
Nearly half of the failures has been during the ongoing turmoil in the
US financial market, with a total of 21 banks having failed since
September last year and 19 since January this year, the FDIC data
shows.
The current year has already seen the highest number of bank failures
in the midst of the United States grappling with one of the worst
economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1930s.
Prior to 2008, the highest number of bank collapses was recorded in
2002, when 11 such entities failed.
In India, there are a total of 38 banks listed on the stock exchange,
which include 18 from the private sector and 20 from the public
sector.
On Friday, Houston-based Franklin Bank SSB and Security Pacific Bank
in Los Angeles became the latest bank failures in the US, forcing
state authorities to take them under their control.
Since August 2008 as many as 12 banks have gone bust - a period when
the current financial turbulence began to squeeze the economy.
They include Freedom Bank, Alpha Bank & Trust, Meridian Bank, Main
Street Bank, Washington Mutual Bank, Ameribank, Silver State Bank,
Integrity Bank, The Columbian Bank and Trust and First Priority Bank.
Before August this year, seven banks - First Heritage Bank, First
National Bank of Nevada, IndyMac Bank, First Integrity Bank, ANB
Financial, Hume Bank and Douglass National Bank - had collapsed.
Going by the FDIC data, there were no bank failures in 2005 and 2006.
On the other hand, only two banks had failed in 2000, the lowest
number in last eight years.
In 2007, just three banks failed in the country - Miami Valley Bank,
NetBank and Metropolitan Savings Bank.
The fall of Washington Mutual, the country’s largest savings and loan
entity, is one of the biggest bank failures this year. Better known as
WaMu, its larger rival JPMorgan Chase agreed to acquire the entity in
September.
JPMorgan bought deposits and branches of WaMu for about $1.9 billion,
in a deal brokered by the Federal administration.
Going by the available data, Bank of Honolulu and National State Bank
of Metropolis went bust in 2001.
Then next year, four banks collapsed - First Alliance Bank & Trust
Company, The Malta National Bank, Superior Bank and Sinclair National
Bank.
In 2003 and 2004, the number of banks which failed stood at seven.
They are Southern Pacific Bank, The First National Bank of
Blanchardville, Pulaski Savings Bank, Dollar Savings Bank, Guaranty
National Bank of Tallahassee, Reliance Bank and Bank of Ephraim.