bank failure news stories on Newser

How Iceland Got Its Groove Back

Kevin Spak — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:33:05 CST

Don't look now, but Iceland's economy is growing. Tourism is up, the standard of living remains high, and unemployment is down to 7%. "For a country whose entire financial system collapsed, Iceland is doing remarkably well," the IMF's mission chief there tells the Washington Post . Why? In part because Iceland...

Bank Failures Far From Over

Rob Quinn — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:51:12 CST

Bank failures were down significantly in 2011, but that doesn't mean banks are getting healthier—it just means sick ones are taking longer to die, the Wall Street Journal finds. Some 92 banks failed last year, down from 157 in 2010. But many of 2011's casualties were in weaker shape...

FDIC Launches 50 Criminal Inquiries of Failed Banks

Kevin Spak — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:46:02 CST

The FDIC has launched criminal investigations targeting around 50 executives, directors, and employees from banks that failed during the financial crisis. Regulators won’t say which banks or executives are under investigation yet, but did tell the Wall Street Journal that banks of all sizes from across the country are involved,...

FDIC Closes Bank No. 28: NYC's Park Avenue Bank

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:48:42 CST

Federal regulators shut down Park Avenue Bank in New York today, marking the 28th failure this year of a federally insured bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of Park Avenue Bank. It had $520.1 million in assets and $494.5 million in deposits as of Dec....

FDIC Seizes 4 More Banks

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:12:32 CST

Regulators yesterday shuttered banks in Florida, Illinois, Maryland, and Utah, boosting to 26 the number of US bank failures so far this year following the 140 brought down in 2009 by mounting loan defaults. The pace of bank seizures this year is likely to accelerate , FDIC officials have said, as...

Lending Falls at Fastest Rate Since 1942

Kevin Spak — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:03:16 CST

Banks tightened credit last year at what the Wall Street Journal calls an “epic pace,” recording their biggest full-year decline in loans outstanding in 67 years. The figure comes from a new FDIC report that paints the picture of a banking industry that, apart from a few top-tier players, is...

Geithner: Goldman Woulda Failed Sans Bailout

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 09:45:35 CST

Goldman Sachs fatcats were musing this week about how they might have been fine without a federal bailout, but Tim Geithner is having none of it: “None of them would have survived,” he tells Bloomberg , without federal intervention. “The entire US financial system and all the major firms in the...

Danger Signs Ignored at Failed Banks

Rob Quinn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:43:11 CST

"Post-mortems" on banks that failed during the financial crisis are exposing serious misjudgment by state and federal regulators. Inspectors-general are finding at bank after bank that regulators were aware that risky and potentially toxic loans were being made while the economy was booming, but failed to take action, the New...

Sorry, FDIC Can't Guarantee Interest on That CD

Harry Kimball — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:38:29 CST

There’s a little-publicized part of your bank deposit the FDIC doesn’t insure, and it’s driving scrupulous savers up the wall. The logic is simple enough: When the FDIC takes over a failed bank and resells its assets, it allows buyers to alter interest rates, particularly on CDs. This actually makes...