Community banks are struggling with the weak economy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) May 20, 2011 -- Together, Atlantic Southern and First Georgia Banking had 26 branches, which will reopen on Saturday as branches of CertusBank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, the receiver of closed banks, said it entered into loss-share transactions with CertusBank totaling $1 billion.

Regulators also closed Summit Bank, of Burlington, Washington, about 50 miles (100 km) north of Seattle. Columbia State Bank, of Tacoma, Washington, purchased the bank, which has three branches and had $142.7 million in assets.

In 2010, 157 banks failed following 140 failures in 2009. The bulk of the failures have increasingly been smaller institutions, those with less than $1 billion in assets, as large banks have recovered more quickly from the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair has said the agency expects the number of failures to fall in 2011.

Community banks are struggling with the weak economy and many are facing problems related to their exposure to the commercial real estate market.

Next week the FDIC will give an update on the health of the banking industry when it releases its quarterly report on May 24.
http://www.hervelegersale2011.com/
The agency announced last month it expects that future bank failures will cost the government less than previously estimated.

The agency said on April 12 it is now estimating bank failures will cost the industry-funded insurance fund about $45 billion from 2010 through 2014, compared with a prior estimate of $52 billion.