November bank failures tied to CRE exposure, more closures to come

The five banks that failed in November were victims of exposure to commercial real estate, analytics firm Trepp LLC said Monday. The November data follow the pattern exhibited throughout 2011, in which bank failures spiked in the month following the end of a quarter and then dropped during the subsequent two months. Eleven banks failed in October — also because of CRE exposure. Total bank failures this year now stand at 90, putting the annualized pace just under 100 for 2011. Nearly 300 banks were shuttered by regulators in 2009 and 2010 combined. Commercial real estate loans comprised 80.8% of the total $160 million in nonperforming loans at the banks that failed in November. Construction and land loans made up 64.4% of the total, while commercial mortgages accounted for 16.5% of the nonperforming pool. The residential real estate loan category was a secondary source of distress, comprising 10.1% of the total nonperforming balance. The remainder included 5.4% of commercial and industrial loans and 3.7% of consumer and other loans. There was no particular geographic concentration for November’s bank failures with institutions closing in Georgia, Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska and Utah. The pace of failures last month trended lower than the 2011 average of 7.5 per month. Trepp analysts maintain their estimate of a total failure count of about 100 for 2011. “We expect closures to extend into 2012 and possibly beyond,” Trepp said. “Much will depend on the strength of the economy in general and real estate market conditions in particular.” Write to Justin T. Hilley. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHilley.