US regulators shut 4 more banks

Four more US banks have been closed by regulators, increasing the number of bank failures since January to 119.

The latest financial institutions to fall victim to the floundering economy are located in Georgia, Michigan, Missouri and Minnesota.

The failures are estimated to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) more than $300 million.

Analysts expect more bank failures next year, as increasing numbers of community banks are caving in under the weight of bad mortgages.

The FDIC chief says the number of bank failures will remain high even if the economy begins to recover.

Sheila Bair added that the failures are occurring mainly because the industry is continuing to recognize loan losses and clean up balance sheets.

She says the industry’s woes are migrating from residential loans and complex securities to more conventional types of commercial loans.

During the current financial crisis, Washington Mutual, with about 307 billion dollars in assets, became the biggest bank to fail in US history, .

Despite talk of the recession ‘bottoming out’, the rate of bank failures shows no sign of abating.

Last year, 25 US banks failed, compared with only three in 2007.