Quick update to recent posts on the Georgia bank crisis

Yesterday I mentioned that two more banks in Georgia had been closed by the FDIC. Information in this post on Calculated Risk points to one more Georgia bank now known to be under FDIC scrutiny, as well as one in Charleston, S.C.

According to Calculated Risk, quoting surferdude808: Since the on-set of this banking crisis, there have been 55 failures in the state of Georgia that have cost the FDIC approximately $8.06 billion or 33 percent of $24.4 billion of failed assets.

One could raise questions about comparing federal expenditures to a state’s population, but in these days of constant complaints about a federal government that is too large, I think it’s worth looking at the per capita strain that states place on various federal programs. Yes, the FDIC’s insurance fund relies on bank fees rather than directly on taxes, but those fees are obviously passed along to depositors nationwide.

There are about 9.7 million people in Georgia according to the 2010 census, so the state has so far cost the FDIC approximately $830 per resident. That number is likely to double or triple before this crisis runs its course.