Regulators Shutter Three Banks

State and federal regulators closed three more banking institutions Friday, bringing the total number of U.S. bank and thrift failures during 2009 to 32.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimated the combined cost to its insurance fund for the three failures would be $1.4 billion.

Please see TheStreet.com's Bank Failure Map for an interactive summary of all previous bank and thrift failures during 2008 and 2009.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency took control of Silverton Bank of Atlanta, Ga. and appointed the FDIC receiver. Because no buyer was lined up for the failed wholesale bank, the FDIC created a bridge bank so that Silverton's customers -- all of which were banks or savings and loan associations -- could enter correspondent service relationships with other banks. The agency also held out hope that it might quickly sell the operations of the newly formed bridge bank, which it named Silverton Bridge Bank.

Meanwhile, New Jersey regulators shut down Citizens Community Bank of Ridgewood, N.J. The FDIC was appointed receiver and sold all of the failed bank's deposits to North Jersey Community Bank of Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

Also, the Utah Department of Financial Institutions closed America West Bank of Layton, Utah and placed it in FDIC receivership. The FDIC then transferred all of the failed institution's deposits to Cache Valley Bank of Logan, Utah.

Georgia's Lead for Bank Failures Widens

Silverton Bank was the sixth Georgia bank to fail during 2009, following last week's failure of American Southern Bank of Kennesaw. Georgia leads all states with 11 bank or thrift failures during 2008 and 2009, followed by California with nine failures and then Florida, Illinois, and Nevada, each of which has had four bank or thrift failures.