US regulators shut down two more banks

US regulators have shut down two more banks in the US states of Missouri and Minnesota, bringing the total number of bank foreclosures in the country this year to 76.

On Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) took over the Sun Security bank of Ellington, Missouri, with approximately USD 355.9 million in assets and USD 290.4 million in deposits, and the Riverbank of Wyoming, Minnesota, with USD 417.4 million in assets and USD 379.3 million in deposits.

Great Southern Bank in Springfield, Missouri, is assuming all the deposits and assets of Sun Security Bank of Ellington. Central Bank of Stillwater, Minnesota, is assuming all the deposits and assets of the Riverbank of Wyoming.

Bank failures in the United States in 2011 illustrate the problems that small community banks face, many of which have been hard-hit by the country’s sluggish economy and their involvement in the troubled commercial real estate market.

Most of the banks that have failed so far this year have had less than USD 1 billion in assets.

According to the FDIC, the total number of bank failures was 157 in 2010, 140 in 2009, 25 in 2008 and just 3 in 2007.