US regulators take over 8 more banks; year's toll rises to 118

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Friday announced the takeover of eight more failed private banks in the US, taking the year's toll of failed banks to 118.

The regulators on Friday said they shut down eight banks, including four California-based banks, a community bank in Chicago, and banks in Florida and Virginia.

These included Sonoma Valley Bank of Sonoma, Los Padres Bank (Solvang), Butte Community Bank (Chico), Pacific State Bank (Stockton) - all of California; ShoreBank of Chicago, Illinois, Imperial Savings and Loan Association of Martinsville, Virginia, Independent National Bank of Ocala, Florida and Community National Bank of Bartow, Florida.

ShoreBank had $2.16 billion in assets and $1.54 billion in deposits. ShoreBank, which lost $39.5 million in the second quarter in the wake of the mortgage loan crisis, had been under "cease and desist" order from the FDIC for over a year.

The bank, however, managed to raise more than $146 million in capital this spring from several big Wall Street institutions.

ShoreBank had also indirect links with some members of the Obama administration, including presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett and former top federal banking regulators Ellen Seidman and Eugene Ludwig.