Bank failures in Ga., N.C. bring 2009 tally to 39

[UpInArms]

Source: CBS Marketwatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Bank failures in Georgia and North Carolina have brought the number of failures in 2009 to 39, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. late Friday. Southern Community Bank of Fayetteville, Ga., was the year's seventh bank failure in that state and United Community Bank of Blairsville, Ga., will assume all of the deposits. As of May 29, Southern Community Bank had total assets of $377 million and total deposits of approximately $307 million. United Community Bank will buy about $364 million in assets. Cooperative Bank of Wilmington, N.C., became the year's second bank to fail in that state. North Carolina First Bank of Troy, N.C., will assume all Cooperative deposits, except those from brokers. As of May 31, Cooperative had total assets of $970 million and total deposits of about $774 million. First Bank will also purchase about $942 million of assets.

Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-failures-in-ga-nc-bring-2009-tally-to-39?siteid=bnbh

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For a complete listing of failed banks in 2009, see

Failed Bank List

[UpInArms]

1. Kansas bank is 40th failure of 2009

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kansas-bank-is-40th-failure-of-2009

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Anthony, Kan.-based First National Bank of Anthony became the third bank seized by regulators Friday, marking the 40th bank failure of 2009, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. South Hutchinson, Kan.-based Bank of Kansas has agreed to assume the failed bank's deposits, the regulator said. National Bank of Anthony, the second bank in Kansas to fail this year, had $156.9 million in assets and $142.5 million in deposits as of March 31, the FDIC said.

a three-fer Friday!

[Lucky Luciano]

2. I was noticing that so many of the failures were in Georgia.

Wonder why that is?

[Alcibiades]

3. Good eye!

I count 13 bank failures in Georgia. All but two of the failures were in Atlanta or suburban communities nearby. According to Trulia, the median home sale price in Atlanta is down 30% from last year, as is number of sales and price per square foot.

Also, there's this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/04/georgia-bank-failures-hig_n_195961.html

[Lucky Luciano]

4. Very interesting article!

It makes it very clear why Georgia has so many failures - the primary reason appears to be the old laws that made Georgia have so many small banks. It did confuse me because people talk about Michigan, Ohio, California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada when we talk about Ground Zero for the housing crisis. Georgia has its issues too of course like nearly every state, but people do not talk about it like the other aforementioned states.

[Alcibiades]

5. Many southern/sunbelt places had a big bubble

The Triangle was mainly spared, though we have had some decline in prices here. Much of the bubble here was driven by real estate developers, who insisted that everyone must have 3,000+ square foot houses, and concentrated on building the sorts of homes that were a small part ot the market before, and banks let them--encouraged them--in this.



This is the sort of house they have been building for the past few years in my town, a place where the median income is 43k. I think they counted on folks selling property in New York and New Jersey and Massachusetts forever and taking the proceeds down here to buy a much larger home, but that trend could not continue forever. I'm sure there was a lot of that going on in Georgia, too, though I cannot understand why: folks in the Northeast seem to fail how to understand how a 100 degree day in June is not "nice weather."