Failed banks in the US have become such a regular event that many have stopped noticing them. But the effects live on.
Last week, regulators shut down six banks in Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Kansas - making 138 US failed banks this year alone in the wake of the US sub-prime and housing crisis. So far.
And the economy is a big issue in the US midterm elections 2010 - with high unemployment and a recovery that hasn't materialised for many Americans.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures banks for at least $250,000 per customer. It is the body which took over the banks last week - the largest of which was Hillcrest Bank, based in Kansas, with $1.6bn in assets. Also closed last week were First Bank of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida, with $81m in assets; Progress Bank of Florida, based in Tampa, with $110.7m in assets; First National Bank of Barnesville in Georgia, with $131.4m in assets; Gordon Bank in Georgia, with $29.4m in assets; and First Suburban National Bank in Maywood, Illinois, with $148.7m in assets.
What are assets? In the topsy-turvy world of banking assets are money that people owe the bank, such as a mortgage. The total for those that have failed since 2008 is $630bn - that's over $2,000 for every man, woman and child in the US.
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