SFGate: US economy: Total number federally insured banks closed in 2009 reaches 64 after regulators shut 6 Ga banks, 1 in New York state

For the complete report from SF Gate click on this link

US economy: Total number of federally insured banks closed in 2009 reaches 64 after regulators shut 6 Ga banks, 1 in New York state

Regulators on Friday shut six banks in Georgia and a small bank in New York state, raising to 64 the number of federally insured banks to fail this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of the banks: six bank subsidiaries of Security Bank Corp., based in Macon, Ga.; and Waterford Village Bank of Clarence, N.Y. The six Security banks had total assets of $2.8 billion and deposits of $2.4 billion as of March 31. State Bank and Trust Co., based in Pinehurst, Ga., has agreed to assume all of the banks' deposits and $2.4 billion of the assets, the FDIC said. In addition, the FDIC and State Bank and Trust signed an agreement to share losses on around $1.7 billion of the six banks' assets.The Treasury Department has launched a program in which financial firms will buy as much as $40 billion worth of banks' soured, mortgage-linked investments. That amount is far below the potential $1 trillion in assets that the government originally hoped to take off the banks' books through the program and another that would have targeted bad loans.

The Treasury Department has launched a program in which financial firms will buy as much as $40 billion worth of banks' soured, mortgage-linked investments. That amount is far below the potential $1 trillion in assets that the government originally hoped to take off the banks' books through the program and another that would have targeted bad loans.