First US bank collapse of 2010: Horizon Bank

Sat, 09 Jan 2010

Washington - A small bank in the state of Washington became the first US bank to collapse in 2010, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said. Horizon Bank's estimated 1.3 billion dollars in assets and 1.1 billion dollars in deposits are being assumed by Washington Federal Savings and Loan Association, of Seattle, Washington, the FDIC said Friday. Horizon had 18 branches which will be taken over by Washington Federal Savings and Loan.

FDIC estimated that losses to its insurance fund would be limited to 540 million dollars.

Horizon joined the 140 US banks closed by regulators in 2009 amidst bad real estate loans that contributed to the recession, the highest number of banks to collapse since the end of the savings-and- loan crisis in 1992, when 181 lenders failed, the Wall Street Journal reported.

In a separate move, regulators also closed down Kern Central Credit Union, in Bakersfield, California, a three-branch institution that served farm workers.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/302884,first-us-bank-collapse-of-2010-horizon-bank.html.