Five Billion Dollar Bank Failure – First NBC Bank, New Orleans, Closed by Regulators

A very large bank failure occurred today when state regulators closed First NBC Bank, New Orleans, and appointed the FDIC as receiver.  To prevent losses to depositors, the FDIC took a significant hit to its Deposit Insurance Fund and sold First NBC Bank to Whitney Bank, Gulfport, Mississippi. In terms of asset size the collapse of […]

Doral Bank Collapses After Years of Financial Losses – Largest Bank Failure Since 2010

The largest bank failure since 2010 left the FDIC on the hook for almost $1 billion in losses as the giant $5.9 billion asset Doral Bank, San Juan, Puerto Rico, was closed by bank regulators.  Doral Bank has been a bank failure waiting to happen as years of losses and economic turmoil in Puerto Rico […]

Largest Bank Failure of 2014 – The National Republic Bank of Chicago

Illinois has been a tough place for banks this year.  A third of all bank failures during 2014 have occurred in Illinois and the collapse of The National Republic Bank of Chicago also gives Illinois the distinction of having the nation’s largest bank failure. The National Republic Bank of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, (TNRBC) was shuttered […]

First National Bank, Edinburg, Texas, Closed By Regulators – Largest Bank Failure In Over Three Years

The biggest banking failure of 2013 occurred today in Texas as regulators closed the First National Bank, Edinburg, Texas,   The failed bank becomes the 22nd banking failure of the year and the first in Texas. First National Bank, with $3.1 billion in total assets, is the largest bank failure since May 14, 2010 when Midwest […]

Ridiculous Divergence Between Bank CEO Pay And Shareholder Returns

The wide divergence between bank CEO compensation and shareholder returns is an embarrassment to the capitalist notion of linkage between performance and pay. Shareholders of banking stocks have seen the value of their investments pulverized over the past four years as the banking industry struggles to recover from the lending excesses of previous years.  Shareholders […]

List Of 2011 Bank Failures Reveals Interesting Facts

A total of 92 banks failed during 2011, signaling a continuation of the crisis in the banking industry.  Although total banking failures during 2011 declined from the previous year, the number remains historically high.  The last time more than 50 banks failed in one year was 1992 or 20 years ago. The complete list of […]

FDIC To Cover Losses On $75 Trillion Bank of America Derivative Bets

Potential losses on Bank of America’s massive $75 trillion book of risky derivative contracts has just been dumped onto the FDIC by the Federal Reserve. Derivatives, once described by Warren Buffet as “financial weapons of mass destruction” are complex contracts entered into for speculation or to hedge risks linked to a wide variety of other […]

FDIC Figures Out That Criminals Were Running Failed United Commercial Bank

United Commercial Bank, San Francisco, CA,  which was closed by regulators on November 6, 2009, was the fourth largest banking failure of 2009 and resulted in losses to the FDIC Deposit Insurance Fund of $2.5 billion. Almost two years later, the FDIC announced that it was seeking to prohibit ten former officers of the bank […]

Who Will Rescue Collapsing European Banks When Banks Are Bigger Than Countries?

The European banking crisis continues to spiral out of control while hapless politicians fail to put together a credible resolution plan. Part of the problem may be that it is difficult to construct a solution when failing banks are bigger than the countries that are trying to rescue them. The latest European bank on the […]

Integra Bank of Indiana Collapses As Regulators Seize Bank

Integra Bank, N.A., Evansville, Indiana, became the nation’s second largest banking failure of 2011 as regulators closed the insolvent bank. The FDIC, appointed as receiver, protected depositors by entering into a purchase and assumption agreement with Old National Bank, Evansville, Indiana, which will assume all deposits of the failed bank. All 52 branches of Integra […]