Seven more banks shut down in US

US regulators have shut down two big California banks, as well as banks in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Illinois, bringing to 140 the number of US banks brought down this year by the weak economy and mounting loan defaults.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp took over all seven on Friday.
As the economy has slumped, with unemployment rising, home prices tumbling and loan defaults soaring, bank failures have accelerated around the country.
The 140 bank failures are the most in a year since 1992 at the height of the savings-and-loan crisis. They have cost the government-backed deposit insurance fund - which has fallen into the red -- more than $30 billion so far this year. The failures compare with 25 last year and three in 2007.
The FDIC expects the cost of bank failures to grow to about $100 billion over the next four years.
Banks have been especially hard hit by failed real estate loans, both residential and commercial.