Think the banking crisis was "last year's news"?

I wasn't sure how this was going, the banking industry crisis, but I really did hope the worst was behind us. It turns out, it's not. The FDIC closed banks last night in "Florida, Georgia, Oregon and Washington, lifting to 108 the number of U.S. banks to fail this year as the industry has struggled to cope with mounting loan defaults and recession." And here's the clincher: The number of bank failures is expected to peak this year and be slightly higher than the 140 that fell in 2009. That was the highest annual tally since 1992, at the height of the savings and loan crisis. The 2009 failures cost the insurance fund more than $30 billion. Twenty-five banks failed in 2008, the year the financial crisis struck with force; only three succumbed in 2007. Well, that and this: The growing bank failures have sapped billions of dollars out of the deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red last year, and its deficit stood at $20.7 billion as of March 31. The number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem" list jumped to 775 in the first quarter from 702 three months earlier, even as the industry as a whole had its best quarter in two years. A majority of institutions posted profit gains in the January-March quarter. But many small and midsized banks are likely to continue to suffer distress in the coming months and years, especially from soured loans for office buildings and development projects. The FDIC expects the cost of resolving failed banks to total around $60 billion from 2010 through 2014. Additionally, with consumer confidence--and spending--both at deep lows, don't look for this to change or improve any time too soon, either. Here's hoping for the best, eh? Try to have a terrific weekend. Link to original post: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100731/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bank_closures;_ylt=AsObbyWHpmK7E_A1HA9oaoiMwfIE;_ylu=X3oDMTM1bWNjdXQ2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNzMxL3VzX2JhbmtfY2xvc3VyZXMEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM2BHBvcwM2BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDcmVndWxhdG9yc2Ns