4 more US banks face closure

Four more banks have been shut down across the United States, bringing the number of bank failures in the country to 26 since January.

The banks, with over one billion dollars in assets, were closed by US bank regulators in the states of Florida, Illinois, Maryland and Utah.

The closures showed that deteriorating loans are continuing to take a toll on financial institutions.

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has warned that the pace of bank failures is likely to pick up in coming months.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair predicts bank failures to remain high as long as the banking industry seeks to recognize loan losses and clean up their balance sheets.

Hoping to curb this trend, the US president has presented a $30 billion plan to give money to community banks if they lend more to small businesses.

At least 166 banks have been forced to close down in the US since the financial crisis first hit last year.

Regulators closed 140 banks in 2009, compared to 25 in 2008 and only 3 in 2007.