Federal regulators raise number of bank failures to 23

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal regulators shut down two additional banks Friday, raising the number of bank failures so far this year to 23.

The first bank was Cape Fear Bank in Wilmington, N.C., the first North Carolina bank to fail in nearly 16 years. The other bank was New Frontier Bank of Greeley, Colo., the second Colorado bank this year to collapse.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over both banks Friday after their respective state regulators closed them down.

As of the end of 2008, the insurance fund stood at $18.9 billion — the lowest level in nearly a quarter-century, and down from $52.4 billion at the end of 2007. The FDIC expects that bank failures will cost the insurance fund about $65 billion through 2013.

The FDIC fund operates by charging financial institutions, not with federal tax dollars.