On Friday, regulators closed First International Bank, Plano, Texas. This brings the total number of U.S. bank and thrift failures to 74 for 2011, behind last year’s pace of 127.
The southeast region accounts for nearly 50% of all bank failures for 2011. Across the country, Georgia leads the nation with 19 failures, Florida running a close second place with 11 bank closings, and Illinois is third with seven closings.
Because banks serve an important public purpose and are important to the nation’s economy, they are subject to intense regulatory scrutiny. Unfortunately the regulators don’t share their reviews and bank grades with the public. So, most times the public doesn’t hear about bank issues that may lead to failure until the bank is closed.
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