Federal bank regulators closed the country’s fifth bank this year when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of Thrift Supervision announced Friday that they shut down $32 billion IndyMac Bank FSB in Pasadena, Calif.
Five bank closures in seven months sounds like a lot.
And it is.
But let’s add a little perspective here. While the number of closings is the most in the past five years, it’s not the most in the new millennium.
Bank failures in the United States topped 11 in 2002.
So while the number of bank failures is up this year, keep in mind that it’s not the most — yet.
One Comment
I think there will be many, many more “bank” closings. I use the term “bank” loosely because if you bought your house through IndyMac (and others) there was no credit check of any kind. Home prices are going up, so who cares about bad credit? And these facilities are FDIC insured?
The late 80’s and early 90’s were much worse with over 500 banks closing due to the S&L crisis.
Since I fall into the “grumpy old man” category I would prefer to throw out all democrats and republicans and start over. But it is very ironic to me that the granddaddy of the Keating 5 is soon to be the republican nominee for president.
That’s at least one person that should have known better than to allow that type of financial activity AGAIN.