Bank Failures Reach 300 Mark
On Stimulus.org, we have been tracking the number of bank failures by FDIC-insured institutions since the beginning of 2008. As we have mentioned before, due to the financial crisis, the number of bank failures and their cost in each of the past three years has completely dwarfed the numbers from the prior eight years. This fact shows the depth of the recession we were in and the problems we still face. Even though the recession was dated to have ended in June 2009, and the collapse of Lehman Brothers (which helped set off widespread bank failures) is two years in our rear view mirror, bank failures still continue to roll as frequently as ever. In fact, this year's total will, in all likelihood, surpass the total from 2009 (although the cost to the FDIC will probably be lower).
With three more bank failures last week, we've reached a "milestone": 300 bank failures since the start of 2008. We've broken down the number of failures and the cost by year in the table below.
| FDIC Bank Failures and Costs Since 2008 | ||
| Year | Number of Bank Failures | Cost (billions) |
| 2008 | 25 | $22 |
| 2009 | 140 | $36 |
| 2010 | 135 | $21 |
| Total | 300 | $79 |
It's interesting to note that 2008 has been more costly than 2010, despite this year having many more failures. This, of course, is due to the fact that two of the largest bank failures in FDIC history occurred in 2008: Washington Mutual and IndyMac. These two alone cost the FDIC about $20 billion!
These failures show just one aspect of the cost of the financial crisis. For other aspects of the cost and the response to the recent recession, check out Stimulus.org. We'll keep tracking the bank failures, since they show no sign of slowing down.
