FDIC Closes 3 Banks Today

The FDIC closed three banks today, bringing to 6 the number of banks closed in 2009. All three banks were on my list of 50 banks most likely to close in 2009. They were number 1 on my list, Magnet Bank of Salt Lake City, UT; number 5 on my list, Suburban Federal Savings Bank of Crofton, MD; and number 9 on my list, Ocala National Bank of Ocala, FL.

Suburban Federal Savings is being taken over by Bank of Essex. Ocala National is being taken over by CenterState Bank. In the case of Magnet Bank, the FDIC could not find an acquirer and depositors will be mailed checks for their balances on Monday.

It's worth looking at my New Year's list again of 50 banks most likely to close in 2009:

1 Magnet Bank, Salt Lake City, UT
2 Citizens Community Bank, Ridgewood, NJ
3 FirstBank Financial Services, McDonough, GA
4 Westsound Bank, Bremerton, WA
5 Suburban Federal Savings Bank, Crofton, MD
6 America West Bank, Layton, UT
7 The Community Bank, Loganville, GA
8 Silver Falls Bank, Silverton, OR
9 Ocala National Bank, Ocala, FL
10 Sun Security Bank, Ellington, MO
11 Eastern Savings Bank, FSB, Hunt Valley, MD
12 Alliance Bank, Culver City, CA
13 FirstCity Bank, Stockbridge, GA
14 Chestatee State Bank, Dawsonville, GA
15 First Security National Bank, Norcross, GA
16 Ocean Bank, Miami, FL
17 First Georgia Community Bank, Jackson, GA
18 Family Bank and Trust Co., Palos Hills, IL
19 Southern Community Bank, Fayetteville, GA
20 BankCherokee, Saint Paul, MN
21 First Tuskegee Bank, Tuskegee, AL
22 Federal Trust Bank, Sanford, FL
23 Pinnacle Bank, Beaverton, OR
24 Lake Country Community Bank, Morristown, MN
25 Mesa Bank, Mesa, AZ
26 Bank of Wyoming, Thermopolis, WY
27 1st American State Bank of Minnesota, Hancock, MN
28 First State Bank of Altus, Altus, OK
29 EvaBank, Eva, AL
30 Strategic Capital Bank, Champaign, IL
31 Ebank, Atlanta, GA
32 Polk County Bank, Johnston, IA
33 Parkway Bank, Rogers, AR
34 Security Bank of Gwinnett County, Suwanee, GA
35 State Bank of Park Rapids, Park Rapids, MN
36 Herrin Security Bank, Herrin, IL
37 Omni National Bank, Atlanta, GA
38 Northpointe Bank, Grand Rapids, MI
39 Towne Bank of Arizona, Mesa, AZ
40 Haven Trust Bank, Duluth, GA
41 Timberland Bank, El Dorado, AR
42 Blue Ridge Savings Bank, Inc., Asheville, NC
43 First Piedmont Bank, Winder, GA
44 Select Bank, Grand Rapids, MI
45 Oxford Bank, Oxford, MI
46 Security Bank of North Metro, Woodstock, GA
47 MetroPacific Bank, Irvine, CA
48 Earthstar Bank, Southampton, PA
49 Neighborhood Community Bank, Newnan, GA
50 The Home Savings and Loan Company, Youngstown, OH

Three other banks have also been closed by the FDIC in 2009. They are:
National Bank of Commerce, Berkeley, IL
Bank of Clark County, Vancouver, WA
First Centennial Bank, Redlands, CA

CNBC Bonus Bucks - Trivia Answers for Portfolio Challenge Questions

CNBC's Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge is back. Trading started November 17th, 2008. Hours: Monday 6:00 a.m. to Friday 4:00 p.m. During the week, you can post your answers even after the market closes.

==>From Daily CNBC Bonus Bucks Trivia Answers<==

Daily Answers for
1/16/09:

Squawk Box question: What stock(s) did Fast Money trader Joe Terranova recommend Thursday to play a gasoline price bottom?

• Answer: Valero

Squawk On The Street Question: In Cramer’s Dec. 22 “outrage” over ultra-short ETFs, where was UltraShort Financials ProShares?

• Answer: up 1.4%

The Call Question: During Doug Hirschhorn's Jan. 15 CNBC interview, what "Breaking News" headline(s) appeared on-screen?

• Answer: Dow Dips Below 8000

Power Lunch Question: According to the article "Is Microsoft's Songsmith Video Campy...", what hated TV show was the promo video compared to?

• Power Lunch Answer: Cop Rock

Best CD Rate:

==> 4.50% at Pentagon Federal Credit Union <==

Street Signs Question: In Cliff Mason's blog post about legalizing narcotics, which economist does he refer to?

• Street Signs Answer: Milton Friedman

Closing Bell Question: In the installment of "Pros Say" called "We Need More Bailouts, Bigger TARP", who praised Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke?

Closing Bell Answer : here

Must see video:

Was Barney Frank Responsible For Financial Collapse?

2009 Prediction of 50 Bank Closings

New Year's Day is here and it's time for some 2009 predictions. The falling real estate prices are leading to increasing mortgage loan defaults and foreclosures. 2009 will continue that trend. The FDIC closed about two dozen banks in 2008. They probably would have closed more, but lacked the staff to handle them all. They were able to push off most of the closed banks onto healthier banks, but the FDIC got stuck managing the big one, IndyMac Bank. Up until New Year's Eve, they were still negotiating with Fannie Mae over some bad loans made by IndyMac in an effort to get the best possible sale price from Dune Capital Management and others.

The FDIC is increasing staff for 2009 and soon hopes to have the troubles of IndyMac Bank behind them. The increased staff will be able to handle more bank closings, so it is not difficult to predict that 2009 will see the closing of 50 banks or more. What is more difficult is to predict which banks are most likely to close.

Here's my list of the 50 banks most likely to close in 2009:

1 Magnet Bank, Salt Lake City, UT
2 Citizens Community Bank, Ridgewood, NJ
3 FirstBank Financial Services, McDonough, GA
4 Westsound Bank, Bremerton, WA
5 Suburban Federal Savings Bank, Crofton, MD
6 America West Bank, Layton, UT
7 The Community Bank, Loganville, GA
8 Silver Falls Bank, Silverton, OR
9 Ocala National Bank, Ocala, FL
10 Sun Security Bank, Ellington, MO
11 Eastern Savings Bank, FSB, Hunt Valley, MD
12 Alliance Bank, Culver City, CA
13 FirstCity Bank, Stockbridge, GA
14 Chestatee State Bank, Dawsonville, GA
15 First Security National Bank, Norcross, GA
16 Ocean Bank, Miami, FL
17 First Georgia Community Bank, Jackson, GA
18 Family Bank and Trust Co., Palos Hills, IL
19 Southern Community Bank, Fayetteville, GA
20 BankCherokee, Saint Paul, MN
21 First Tuskegee Bank, Tuskegee, AL
22 Federal Trust Bank, Sanford, FL
23 Pinnacle Bank, Beaverton, OR
24 Lake Country Community Bank, Morristown, MN
25 Mesa Bank, Mesa, AZ
26 Bank of Wyoming, Thermopolis, WY
27 1st American State Bank of Minnesota, Hancock, MN
28 First State Bank of Altus, Altus, OK
29 EvaBank, Eva, AL
30 Strategic Capital Bank, Champaign, IL
31 Ebank, Atlanta, GA
32 Polk County Bank, Johnston, IA
33 Parkway Bank, Rogers, AR
34 Security Bank of Gwinnett County, Suwanee, GA
35 State Bank of Park Rapids, Park Rapids, MN
36 Herrin Security Bank, Herrin, IL
37 Omni National Bank, Atlanta, GA
38 Northpointe Bank, Grand Rapids, MI
39 Towne Bank of Arizona, Mesa, AZ
40 Haven Trust Bank, Duluth, GA
41 Timberland Bank, El Dorado, AR
42 Blue Ridge Savings Bank, Inc., Asheville, NC
43 First Piedmont Bank, Winder, GA
44 Select Bank, Grand Rapids, MI
45 Oxford Bank, Oxford, MI
46 Security Bank of North Metro, Woodstock, GA
47 MetroPacific Bank, Irvine, CA
48 Earthstar Bank, Southampton, PA
49 Neighborhood Community Bank, Newnan, GA
50 The Home Savings and Loan Company, Youngstown, OH

Surprisingly, only two California banks make my list.

Florida Home Prices

The Case-Shiller home price index for October came out this week and the results aren't pretty. Home prices took a dive in October across most of the nation as credit continued to tighten. Lenders continue to tighten standards for mortgage borrowers to the point that now half of all homeowners with mortgages couldn't qualify to refinance their current mortgage balance. For those that can, rates are at historic lows. This is a great time to refinance for those who qualify and are currently paying over 6.25%.






In Florida, home prices continue to fall. Historical data and my current forecast for prices into this summer are shown in the graph.

30-Year Fixed Conforming Mortgage Rates

Countrywide has the lowest APR at 4.478% for a $300,000, 30-year loan with 1.0 points.

LFCU = Locheed Federal Credit Union

30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage
Loan amounts up to $417,000.
Rates current as of 12/29/08*

	Rate	Points	APR	Loan Amount	Monthly P&I
LFCU	4.990%	1.000%	5.086%	$300,000	$1,609
Bank of America	4.625%	0.988%	4.715%	$300,000	$1,543
Countrywide	4.375%	1.125%	4.478%	$300,000	$1,498
WAMU	4.750%	1.125%	4.854%	$300,000	$1,565
Wells Fargo	4.750%	1.000%	4.846%	$300,000	$1,565
Ditech	6.375%	1.000%	6.480%	$300,000	$1,872

*APR = Annual Percentage Rate. APR assumes a loan-to-value ratio of 80%, 30-year conforming 1st Mortgage. Closing costs and other fees apply. Points and closing costs affect APR. Monthly payments are estimated. Lender rates are subject to change.

NOTE: These rates are for comparative purposes.