U.S. bank failures reach 90 for year

With the failure of five banks last month, 90 banks have now shut down nationwide this year, according to a report released today by analytics firm Trepp. The continued struggles have come in large part from commercial real estate exposure, the main driver behind problematic loans for last month’s bank failures. Commercial real estate loans totaled 80.8 percent of the total $160 million in non-performing loans at the shuttered institutions. Residential real estate also contributed to the bank shutdowns, with 10.1 percent of the total non-performing loan balance coming from the residential sector last month. The five banks were located in Georgia, Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska and Utah. The firm said it expected nationwide closures to continue into 2012 and beyond. — Alexander Britell