The Great 2009 Bank Die Off

I had to go back and check the date of my last post because I could not believe that the total bank failures for the year had jumped from 9 to 13 in a single week. This is quite an acceleration of the existing trend and definitely supports the view the U.S. is going to face a major bank die off this year.

The new banks failures reported on the FDIC site are the

Pinnacle Bank of Oregon, Beaverton, Oregon, with approximately $73.0 million in assets was closed. Washington Trust Bank, Spokane, Washington has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $64.0 million).

Corn Belt Bank and Trust Company, Pittsfield, Illinois, with approximately $271.8 million in assets and approximately $234.4 million in deposits, was closed. The Carlinville National Bank, Carlinville, Illinois has agreed to assume all non-brokered deposits.

Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, Cape Coral, Florida, with approximately $539.0 million in assets and approximately $424.0 million in deposits, was closed. TIB Bank, Naples, Florida has agreed to assume all non-brokered deposits.

Sherman County Bank, Loup City, Nebraska, with approximately $129.8 million in assets was closed. Heritage Bank, Wood River, Nebraska has agreed to assume all deposits (approximately $85.1 million).

These new failures are expected cost the FDIC upwards of $330 million bringing the yearly total to about 1.5 billion, and its still February! How's that for a burn rate?

You have to remember that all the bail out money floating around has been going to the big banks that sold all the toxic products in the first place. While these little guys may have made some stupid mortgages to people they did not create the sea of derivatives that are bound to destroy the whole system, nor were they the ones advising their clients to buy the same products they were shorting. The system is corrupt and will let scores if not hundreds of these little banks fail.

How much more proof do we need to realize they don't give a crap about the little guys neither the small banks nor the public in general? This is all about saving the companies that politicians hope to work for some day, companies that politicians expect to get donations from or those companies already owed favours for past donations.

Most importantly these bailouts are designed to further the agenda of consolidating financial power to the detriment of the masses. These bailouts are corporate welfare of the worst kind because they are not even doing it fairly. The bigger, the guiltier and the more incestuous your relation to political power the more likely they will save your corporate ass.

"and the Guilty will inherit the Earth"