US sees 50 bank failures in 2010

Indicating that the banking system continues to remain shaky, on an average, 12 banks are biting the dust every month in 2010.The US authorities shut down eight entities on April 16 and the numbers are expected to climb before the employment situation stabilises.

Even though, the economy is growing at over five per cent, the jobless rate is still high at over nine per cent. With increased unemployment, small and medium banks are witnessing more defaults.

The latest entities to go belly up include Tamalpais Bank, City Bank, Butler Bank, AmericanFirst Bank, Lakeside Community Bank, First Federal Bank of North Florida, Riverside National Bank of Florida and Innovative Bank.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures deposits at over 8,000 banks, these failures would cost the agency as much as USD 984.7 million.
A whopping 19 banks had gone belly up last month, while seven entities were closed down in February. The authorities shut down 15 banks in January. The US has seen 204 bank collapses since the bankruptcy of Wall Street major Lehman Brothers in September 2008, that worsened the financial crisis.