Minnesota

It was another busy — and costly — night for regulators in the Southeast. Of the nation's six failures Friday — bringing the year's total to 157 — three were in Georgia and one was in Florida, continuing the onslaught the two states have suffered in the crisis.

The Federal Reserve Board has entered into written agreements with four community banks and their holding companies.

Recent lawsuits could stop community banks in at least two states from deliberately processing the largest transactions first — a method that triggers additional overdrafts and thus higher fees — after a California judge ruled against Wells Fargo & Co. last month.

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that it has restricted dividend payments by three banks, one of which got $2.4 million through the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

WASHINGTON — Federal and state regulators shut seven banks late Friday, pushing the failure total this year to 103. Though the pace of failures briefly slowed earlier this month, it appears to be picking up momentum again, as Friday's failures followed six last week.

Four small banks totaling $730 million in assets were closed late Friday on a relatively light evening for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

TCF Financial Corp. reported its 60th consecutive quarterly profit last week in spite of worries that new limits on overdraft fees could hit the $18.2 billion-asset company particularly hard.

Many smaller banks say they plan to keep offering such services because demand is strong and overdraft fee income is essential.

Small banks face myriad and often frustrating obstacles to acquiring failed banks. But some smart strategies have separated the successful bidders from the rest, including raising excess capital well before a bid, targeting fewer and smaller banks, tracking enforcement actions of potential failures and bringing in well-seasoned management to see a deal through.

WASHINGTON — For the second Friday in a row, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. relied on new-bank capital to find homes for the operations of failed institutions.

The government seized banks in three states late Friday, bringing the failure total in the new year to four.

Officials announced the elaborate closing of San Francisco-based United Commercial Bank Friday night in a deal involving both U.S. and Chinese regulators and a buyer poised to assume the bank's operations immediately.

Failures in 2009 shot past the 100-mark late Friday as regulators swooped into seven community banks in the Midwest and southeast.

Failures in 2009 shot past the 100-mark late Friday as regulators swooped into seven community banks in the Midwest and southeast.

State and federal regulators shut three banks late Friday — $538 million-asset Warren Bank in Michigan, $56.3 million-asset Jennings State Bank of Spring Grove, Minnesota and $39.5 million-asset Southern Colorado National Bank in Pueblo — bringing this year's failure total to 98.

State and federal regulators shut three banks late Friday — $538 million-asset Warren Bank in Michigan, $56.3 million-asset Jennings State Bank of Spring Grove, Minnesota and $39.5 million-asset Southern Colorado National Bank in Pueblo — bringing this year's failure total to 98.

KleinBank's new CEO already has a deal to buy a struggling one-branch competitor, and industry observers say more companies could start eyeing similar small deals.

Time ran out on Corus Bank late Friday as regulators closed the once-high-flying Chicago condominium lender and sold its operations to another institution.

WASHINGTON — Three banks totaling $1.9 billion in assets failed late Friday, bringing the year's closure total to 84.