Bank Failures: What’s Your Guesstimate for 2009?

The financial crisis has claimed its first two banks in 2009 at an approximate cost to the FDIC of more than $200 million.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced recently that the National Bank of Commerce in Berkeley, Ill., and Bank of Clark County in Vancouver, Wash., had been shuttered.

Nationwide, as the economy’s problems have deepened, the number of bank failures has risen dramatically. Last year, 25 banks closed, compared to only three in 2007 and none in 2006 and 2005.

What’s your guess as to just how many banks will bite the dust in 2009? We’d love to hear your projections. Just click the comment link below and tell us what you think. Your email address will not appear here in order to protect your privacy. We’d love to hear from you.