Banks in 5 states fail; 106 this year

Bank closings for the year hit 106 on Friday when regulators shut down three small banks in Florida, one in Georgia, one in Wisconsin, one in Minnesota and one in Illinois.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over Partners Bank, a small bank in Naples, Fla., with $65.5 million in assets and $64.9 million in deposits.

Others that failed were: Hillcrest Bank Florida, also based in Naples, which had $83 million in assets and $84 million in deposits; Flagship National Bank in Bradenton, Fla., with total assets of $190 million and total deposits of about $175 million; and American United Bank in Lawrenceville, Ga., with $111 million in assets and $101 million in deposits.

Also failing were: Bank of Elmwood in Racine, Wis., with $327.4 million in assets and $273.2 million in deposits; and Riverview Community Bank, based in Otsego, Minn., with $108 million in assets and total deposits of about $80 million; and First Dupage Bank of Westmont, Ill., with total assets of $279 million and deposits of $254 million.

Stonegate Bank, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., agreed to buy the deposits and assets of Partners Bank as well as the deposits of Hillcrest Bank Florida and $28 million of its assets. Ameris Bank, based in Moultrie, Ga., is buying the deposits and assets of American United Bank. First Federal Bank of Florida in Lake City agreed to assume all of the deposits of Flagship National Bank.

Tri City National Bank of Oak Creek, Wis., agreed to buy the deposits and assets of Bank of Elmwood. Central Bank of Stillwater, Minn., agreed to assume all of the deposits and assets of Riverview Community Bank.

Itasca, Ill.-based First Midwest Bank is buying the deposits and assets of First Dupage Bank.

The 106 failures are the most in a year since 1992 at the height of the savings-and-loan crisis. They have cost the federal deposit insurance fund about $25 billion so far this year, and hundreds more bank failures are expected to raise the cost to around $100 billion through 2013.

The failure of Partners Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $28.6 million, while that of Hillcrest Bank Florida is expected to cost $45 million. American United Bank is expected to cost $44 million, and Flagship will be $59 million. Bank of Elmood's failure is expected to cost the fund $101.1 million, while Riverview Community Bank will cost $20 million. First Dupage Bank's closure is expected to cost the fund $59 million.

--

AP Business Writer Sara Lepro in New York contributed to this report.