bank closings

The number of government-aided U.S. banks in danger of failing has grown about 15% in the past six months, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The economy has continued to batter many struggling institutions, with 98 bailed-out banks -- up from 86 in the second quarter -- now at risk.

Regulators shut down four banks Friday, bringing the total of 2010 failures to 143. That tops the 140 shuttered last year and is the most in a year since the savings-and-loan crisis two decades ago.

Over the weekend, the FDIC announced the seizure of seven banks, bringing the 2010 tally to 103. It's very possible that 2010 failures could surpass 2009, but the forecast improves starting in 2011.

The banks the FDIC closed were in Washington state, Missouri, Michigan, and Puerto Rico. The cost is a further blow to the shaky finances of the insurance fund that protects bank depositors.

Well, the numbers appear to be in: The bank total failure for 2009 stands at 140. So what exactly does that mean? Let's take a look. It was a bad year for banks, but it could have been worse. In fact, it could have been much worse. For instance, during the Great Depression, we lost approximately...

In an exclusive report, The Wall Street Journal writes that Bank of America (BAC) will close 10 percent of its branches. The paper says that "The driving force for the closings is changing customer preferences." More people do their banking online and on mobile devices. The financial firm has 6,100...