AmTrust: not your normal bank failure as 2009 total hits 130

Six more banks failed based on FDIC data on December 4, including Greater Atlantic Bank, Reston, Va., Benchmark Bank, Aurora, Ill., AmTrust Bank, Cleveland, The Tattnall Bank, Reidsville, Ga., First Security National Bank, Norcross, Ga., and The Buckhead Community Bank, Atlanta, Ga. The latest collapses bring the bank failure tally to 130 for the year.

One of these, AmTrust, was no normal bank failure. The bank, which had a total of 66 branches, was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver. According toThe Wall Street Journal, "AmTrust is the fourth-largest U.S. bank or savings institution to fail so far this year." Its branches will be taken over by New York Community Bank.