Busy Bank Closure Friday As Four More Banks Are Seized By Regulators

This Friday was the first time since the financial crisis began that four banks were seized on the same day. Look for this pace to accelarate as the year unfolds. I still feel that as many as 300 banks will fail this year. Is your savings within FDIC insurance limits? If not move the excess to another bank ASAP.-Lou

Four banks closed by regulators as credit crunch shakes out

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Four banks in Georgia, Michigan, California and Idaho were closed by regulators Friday, costing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s deposit insurance fund nearly $700 million as the effects of the credit crisis continued rippling throughout the U.S. economy.

Kennesaw, Ga.-based American Southern Bank marked the 26th bank failure of the year and the fifth in the state of Georgia, the FDIC said. Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Michigan Heritage Bank then became the 27th failure of 2009, followed by the closure of Calabasas, Ca.-based First Bank of Beverly Hills.

Alpharetta, Ga.-based Bank of North Georgia has agreed to assume American Southern Bank's deposits, the FDIC said in a statement. American Southern's one office will reopen as a branch of Bank of North Georgia on Monday.

American Southern had roughly $112.3 million in assets and $104.3 million in deposits as of March 30, according to the FDIC.

Bank of North Georgia has also agreed to buy roughly $31.3 million of the failed bank's assets, the FDIC said. The FDIC estimated the cost of American Southern's failure to its deposit insurance fund will be $41.9 million.

American Southern's collapse marks the 51st bank failure since the credit crisis began last year. During that time, an inordinate amount of the total bank failures have occurred in Georgia.

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