Two more US banks shut down, bringing 2009 total to 23

US regulators have closed two more failed banks - Cape Fear Bank and New Frontier Bank of Greeley - bringing the year's total till now to 23.

Cape Fear Bank, a state-chartered lender, formerly known as the Bank of Wilmington, became the 22nd US bank to fail so far this year and the first in North Carolina since Crown National Bank of Charlotte went under in 1993. It has $492 million in assets and $403 million in deposits.

The bank's failure came after it revealed last month it had received a cease and desist order from the FDIC. At the time, bank officials said the FDIC had ordered them to raise more money for capital reserves.

Meanwhile, the Colorado state bank commissioner on Friday closed New Frontier Bank of Greeley, more than four months after the FDIC issued it a cease and desist order for "unsafe" and "unsound" banking practices. FDIC officials didn't tap a buyer, but instead took the institution over, creating the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Greeley. The bank has $2 billion in assets and $1.5 billion in deposits.

''All insured depositors of New Frontier are encouraged to transfer their insured funds to other banks,'' the FDIC said in a statement. In North Carolina, the agency said. ''Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relations to retain their deposit insurance coverage.''

The Colorado failure will cost the FDIC's insurance fund $670 million, while the cost to close Cape Fear is $131 million, the agency said in separate statements.

First Federal will assume Cape Fear's deposits and eight branches along North Carolina's southern coast will open on 13 April as First Federal offices, the FDIC said today. First Federal will buy $468 million in assets and agreed to share with the FDIC in any losses on about $395 million of Cape Fear's assets, the FDIC said. The cost to the agency's deposit insurance fund will be $131 million, the agency said.