Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), 883 Other Banks Still at Risk

Nearly 12% of U.S. banks remain at risk of failure despite significant improvement in the industry's overall health, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in its quarterly report on the banking industry.

The FDIC said that 884 of the nation's 7,657 banks were on its "problem list" at the end of December, up from 860 at the end of September. The agency expects that the number of annual bank failures peaked last year at an 18-year high of 157. So far, 22 banks have failed this year, slightly ahead of last year, when 20 had been seized by regulators at this point.

Banks That Went Bust
Track U.S. bank failures since January 2008.


..Industrywide net income totaled $21.7 billion for the fourth quarter of 2010, up from a loss of $1.8 billion a year earlier, but down from a revised profit of $24.7 billion in the third quarter. It was the fourth consecutive profitable quarter for the U.S banking industry, which is slowly emerging from the 2008 financial meltdown.

"While earnings in 2010 remain well below pre-crisis levels, the past year marked a significant milestone on the road to recovery," said FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair. The FDIC said 62% of U.S. banks reported a year-over-year improvement in their quarterly results.

The agency, however, made large revisions in overall industry earnings for two quarters in 2009 and one in 2010 due to a decision by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) to restate eight quarters of reports to regulators to reflect a $20.3 billion write-down due to deteriorating credit and new regulations over the past two years.




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