by Calculated Risk on 1/23/2010 08:49:00 AM

A few articles ...

From the WSJ: Populist Surge on Hill Eases the Support for Bernanke

Alarmed that there might not be the 60 votes in the Senate needed to extend Mr. Bernanke's term beyond its Jan. 31 expiration, the White House entered the fray publicly for the first time, with officials trying to win support among Democratic senators. President Barack Obama "has a great deal of confidence in what Chairman Bernanke did to bring our economy back from the brink," deputy White House press secretary Bill Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One. "And he continues to think that he's the best person for the job, and will be confirmed by the United States Senate."

From the NY Times: Bernanke’s Bid for a Second Term at the Fed Hits Resistance

Two Democratic senators who are up for re-election this year announced that they would oppose Mr. Bernanke, whose four-year term as head of the central bank expires at the end of this month. Their decisions reflected a surge of opposition among some Democrats and Republicans to Mr. Bernanke, a primary architect of the bailout of the financial system and a contributor to policies that critics contend put the economy at risk in the first place.

From the Financial Times: Bernanke under pressure

From CNBC: Bernanke Vote: 'Unthinkable Has Become a Possibility'

Bernanke definitely supported policies that contributed to the crisis, and he failed to see the problems coming. However once Bernanke started to understand the problem, he was very effective at providing liquidity for the markets.

But since his renomination, he hasn't done himself any favors. He has admitted the Fed failed as a regulator, but he hasn't explained why - or outlined a clear path forward. And Bernanke keeps saying really dumb things, like claiming incorrectly to have an exploding adjustable rate mortgage. That was an ignorant remark considering his position as Fed Chairman and the plight of so many Americans. And quoting a bank robber in testimony to Congress when addressing the long term deficit (suggesting Congress steal from middle class Americans?), and this right after he claimed he wouldn't comment on areas outside of the Fed's authority. Dumb.

I definitely think we could do better.

by Calculated Risk on 1/22/2010 10:42:00 PM

This is an unofficial list of Problem Banks compiled only from public sources. CR NOTE: This was compiled before the 5 bank failures today. There was a "timely" Prompt Corrective Action issued against Charter Bank, Santa Fe, NM and the bank was seized today!

Changes and comments from surferdude808:

The Unofficial Problem Bank List increased by a net two institutions to 584.

Aggregate assets total $305.3 billion, up from $304.8 billion last week. Additions include Pamrapo Savings Bank, Bayonne, NJ ($573 million); Capitol City Bank & Trust Company, Atlanta, GA ($322 million); Bank of Virginia, Midlothian, VA ($226 million); and Independence National Bank, Greenville, GA ($138 million).

Deletions are the two failures last week – Barnes Banking Company ($828 million), and St. Stephens State Bank ($25 million). The other change is a Prompt Corrective Action order issued by the OTS against Charter Bank, Santa Fe, NM ($1.3 billion) on January 20, 2010, which was already operating under a Cease & Desist order.

The list is compiled from regulator press releases or from public news sources (see Enforcement Action Type link for source). The FDIC data is released monthly with a delay, and the Fed and OTC data is more timely. The OCC data is a little lagged. Credit: surferdude808.

See description below table for Class and Cert (and a link to FDIC ID system).

For a full screen version of the table click here.

The table is wide - use scroll bars to see all information!

NOTE: Columns are sortable - click on column header (Assets, State, Bank Name, Date, etc.)



Class: from FDIC

The FDIC assigns classification codes indicating an institution's charter type (commercial bank, savings bank, or savings association), its chartering agent (state or federal government), its Federal Reserve membership status (member or nonmember), and its primary federal regulator (state-chartered institutions are subject to both federal and state supervision). These codes are:

N National chartered commercial bank supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

SM State charter Fed member commercial bank supervised by the Federal Reserve

NM State charter Fed nonmember commercial bank supervised by the FDIC

SA State or federal charter savings association supervised by the Office of Thrift Supervision

SB State charter savings bank supervised by the FDIC

Cert: This is the certificate number assigned by the FDIC used to identify institutions and for the issuance of insurance certificates. Click on the number and the Institution Directory (ID) system "will provide the last demographic and financial data filed by the selected institution".

by Calculated Risk on 1/22/2010 09:06:00 PM

Evergreen? Not so.
Columbia River Bank,
Both washed away.
by Soylent Green is People
From the FDIC: Umpqua Bank, Roseburg, Oregon, Assumes All of the Deposits of Evergreen Bank, Seattle, Washington

Evergreen Bank Seattle, Washington, was closed today by the Washington Department of Financial Institutions, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver....

As of September 30, 2009, Evergreen Bank had approximately $488.5 million in total assets and $439.4 million in total deposits. ...

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $64.2 million. ... Evergreen Bank is the eighth FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the second in Washington. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Horizon Bank, Bellingham, on January 8, 2010.

From the FDIC: Columbia State Bank, Tacoma, Washington, Assumes All of the Deposits of Columbia River Bank, The Dalles, Oregon

Columbia River Bank, The Dalles, Oregon, was closed today by the Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. ...

As of September 30, 2009, Columbia River Bank had approximately $1.1 billion in total assets and $1.0 billion in total deposits. ...

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $172.5 million. ... Columbia River Bank is the ninth FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Oregon. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Community First Bank, Prineville, on August 7, 2009.

That makes five bank failures today, and two with over $1 billion in assets each.

by Calculated Risk on 1/22/2010 08:31:00 PM

Spicy Santa Fe
Hot tamales, fajitas
Zero cold hard cash.
by Soylent Green is People
From the FDIC: Charter Bank, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Assumes All of the Deposits of Charter Bank, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Charter Bank, Santa Fe, New Mexico, was closed today by the Office of Thrift Supervision, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Charter Bank, Albuquerque, New Mexico, a newly-chartered federal savings bank and a subsidiary of Beal Financial Corporation, Plano, Texas, to assume all of the deposits of Charter Bank.
...
As of September 30, 2009, Charter Bank had approximately $1.2 billion in total assets and $851.5 million in total deposits. ...

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $201.9 million. ... Charter Bank is the seventh FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in New Mexico. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Zia New Mexico Bank, Tucumcari, on April 23, 1999.

A theme today: Charter eats Charter. Premier eats Premier.

by Calculated Risk on 1/22/2010 07:05:00 PM

Leeton Missouri
Flyover town with small bank
Not too big to fail
by Soylent Green is People
From the FDIC: Sunflower Bank, National Association, Salina, Kansas, Assumes All of the Deposits of Bank of Leeton, Leeton, Missouri

Bank of Leeton, Leeton, Missouri, was closed today by the Missouri Division of Finance, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. ...

As of December 31, 2009, Bank of Leeton had approximately $20.1 million in total assets and $20.4 million in total deposits. ...

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $8.1 million. ... Bank of Leeton is the sixth FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Missouri. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Gateway Bank of St. Louis, on November 6, 2009.

Small ones count too.