There have been 12 bank closings since my last report (February 18).
Heritage Banking Group, Carthage, MS
Rosemount National Bank, Rosemount, MN
Superior Bank, Birmingham, AL
Nexity Bank, Birmingham, AL
New Horizons Bank, East Ellijay, GA
Bartow County Bank, Cartersville, GA
Western Springs National Bank and Trust, Western Springs. IL
Nevada Commerce Bank, Las Vegas, NV
The Bank of Commerce, Wood Dale, IL
First National Bank of Davis, Davis, OK
Legacy Bank, Milwaukee, WI
Valley Community Bank, St. Charles, IL
There were 157 bank closings last year. So far we have had 34 bank closings in 2011.
I wish to remind readers that I intend these announcements to be a positive thing for the economy. By trying to prevent bank closings, needed liquidity is thwarted from reaching the economy. These regional and local banks are the mainstays of commercial real estate loans, and those loans are taking them down. Their failure to quickly deal with their problems been one of the primary causes of the credit crunch. Consequently, this is one of the major factors hindering a recovery. Thus when you see the FDIC closing a bank, capital is no longer bring wasted and tied up in failed enterprises. It is a sign of an economy trying to recover.
