New Bank Failures: Week of April 6

No U.S. banks or thrifts failed in the week ended April 4, as the number of U.S. banks and thrifts closed during 2009 remained at 21.

The week ended March 14 was the last week in which no banks or thrifts failed. Before that, a bank had failed each week since Jan. 10. All 46 bank failures since the beginning of 2008 are detailed on TheStreet.com's interactive bank failure map:

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Not surprisingly, states at the center of the residential housing boom have produced the greatest number of failing institutions. Out of 41 bank and thrift failures since the beginning of 2008, nine were in Georgia, eight were in California and four in Florida.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s estimated total cost to its deposit insurance fund for the bank failures during the first quarter of 2009 was $2.3 billion. Many of the failed institutions were included in TheStreet.com's list of undercapitalized banks and thrifts, which was recently updated.

TheStreet.com Ratings, recently cited for Best Stock Selection from October 2007 through February 2009 , is an independent research provider that combines fundamental and technical analysis to offer investors tremendous value in volatile times. It provides independent and very conservative financial strength ratings on each of the nation's 8,500 banks and savings and loans, which are available at no charge on the Banks & Thrifts Screener. To see how your portfolio can use this and other research, click here now!

Philip W. van Doorn joined TheStreet.com Ratings., Inc., in February 2007. He is the senior analyst responsible for assigning financial strength ratings to banks and savings and loan institutions. He also comments on industry and regulatory trends. Mr. van Doorn has fifteen years experience, having served as a loan operations officer at Riverside National Bank in Fort Pierce, Florida, and as a credit analyst at the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, where he monitored banks in New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico. Mr. van Doorn has additional experience in the mutual fund and computer software industries. He holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Long Island University.