FBOPs banks in California, Texas, Arizona and Illinois were closed yesterday by regulators, raising the tally of bank failures to 115 this year, according to a statement from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. U.S. Bancorp agreed to assume all the deposits and essentially all the assets of the banks, the FDIC said.
U.S. Bancorp Chief Executive Officer Richard Davis is adding branches, acquiring deposits and seeking to gain share in the mortgage market. The lender, which in June repaid $6.6 billion in funds from the Treasurys Troubled - - - - >

A Treasury Department spokesman confirmed Tuesday that GMAC is in discussions about securing additional government help.
Of the 19 banks that underwent the governments stress tests, 10 were determined to be undercapitalized. GMAC is the only one of those to not have been able to raise all of its necessary capital from investors.
Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site late Tuesday that the U.S. government could hand over another $2.8 billion to $5.6 billion to Detroit-based GMAC. The move would make GMAC the only U.S. company to receive - - - - >

Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other banks remain open even though they are as weak as many that have been shuttered. Regulators are seizing banks slowly and selectively - partly to avoid inciting panic and partly because buyers for bad banks are hard to find.
Going slow buys time. An economic recovery could save some banks that would otherwise go under. But if the recovery is slow and smaller banks finances get even worse, it could wind up costing even more.
This years 106 bank failures are the most in any year since 181 collapsed in 1992 at the end of the savings-and-loan - - - - >

Hendersons $1.26 million cash salary will be cut 25 percent to $950,000, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the terms arent public. He also will get $4.24 million of stock and restricted stock, the Treasurys special master for executive pay said in a letter to GM.
“Most people wouldnt consider it a raise,” said Julie Gibson, a GM spokeswoman. “They brought the salary down some and increased the reliance on long-term stock.”
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The smaller, community banks are especially exposed to commercial real estate loans, which now pose the biggest challenge for many financial institutions and their overseers, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair told lawmakers at a Senate hearing.
A year after the financial crisis struck with force, the stability of the banking system has improved but remains fragile, and commercial real estate lending is a key trouble spot, said Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo.
With more than 7 million U.S. jobs lost in the recession, office space has sat empty and developers have defaulted on their loans. Nearly $500 billion in commercial - - - - >

The private-equity firms led a group that won the auction for loans and properties of the failed Chicago lender, offering $554 million, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Oct. 6. They will take a 40 percent stake and manage the portfolio, while the FDIC keeps 60 percent and lends the buyers as much as $2.39 billion to complete the sale.
The investors, who are paying about 60 cents on the dollar, beat out seven other bidders. The losers, including Colony Capital LLC and Related Cos., will have - - - - >

The investor group also includes TPG Capital, Perry Capital and WLR LeFrak. The FDIC initially will hold a 60 percent stake in the portfolio valued at $831.6 million.
The FDIC said on its Web site late Tuesday it received eight bids for a stake in the portfolio, which includes construction loans and real estate-owned assets with an unpaid principal balance of about $4.5 billion. It determined that the consortiums bid - which values the assets at $2.72 billion or 60 cents on the dollar - would result in the greatest return for the agency.
Federal regulators in September - - - - >

The winning consortium, which also includes Perry Capital and WLR Lefrak, paid 60 cents on the dollar, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said yesterday. The group will spend $554.4 million for a 40 percent managing stake in a company set up by the FDIC to hold $4.5 billion in mostly condominium loans, while regulator will keep a 60 percent holding.
The Starwood group offered a fifth more for the assets than the nearest competitor, said people familiar with the matter. Corus last month became the 90th bank - - - - >

The agency is considering borrowing billions from healthy banks. Alternatively, it may impose a special fee on the banking industry.
Each option carries risk: Drawing money from healthy banks would take dollars out of the private sector, making that money unavailable for investment in the weak economy. But charging the whole industry a fee to replenish the fund could push weaker banks toward failure.
A third option - borrowing from the Treasury - is politically unpalatable, since it would resemble another taxpayer-financed bailout.
A fourth option would be to have banks pay their regular insurance premiums early. But this idea wouldnt solve the - - - - >

The FDIC board, in a 4-1 vote, cut Tier 1 capital ratio requirements for private-equity buyers to 10 percent from the 15 percent proposed July 2. Lenders owned by private-equity investors will be required to maintain the ratio, a gauge of banks ability to absorb losses, for at least three years.
“The policy statement strikes a thoughtful balance to attract non-traditional investors in insured depository institutions while maintaining the necessary safeguards,” FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said in a statement after the vote yesterday. “It both protects the - - - - >