133 banks collapsed in US so far

With three more American banks biting the dust, the total number of collapses in 2009 has touched 133, more than five-fold that of last year.Battered by the financial turmoil, an average of 11 banks especially the small and medium ones, are going belly up every month in the country.

Last year, just 25 banks had collapsed.The count of bank failures in 2009 is the maximum in 18 years. In the wake of the savings and loan crisis, a whopping 181 banks were shuttered in 1992.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), three entities ? Republic Federal Bank, Valley Capital Bank and Solutions Bank ? were closed on December 11.The failure of these banks is expected to cost FDIC ? which is often appointed as the caretaker of collapsed entities ? USD 252.1 million