BestWeek: More Bank Failures Expected as Real Estate Loans Turn Sour

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has been called in as receiver for eight banks through August 4, 2008, following the closure of four institutions in 2007. Prior to the recent closings, the FDIC had not been appointed as receiver for a failed bank since 2004. Regulators expect bank failures in the near term to increase, partly due to some banks’ concentration in real estate loans and construction and development lending, according to a new A.M. Best Co. special report featured in BestWeek U.S./Canada.

Also, in BestWeek U.S./Canada:

-- Scanning the membership of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, the primary panel of jurisdiction for insurance issues, one sees plenty of familiar faces whose survival is anything but assured in November’s general election.

-- A new statistical study ranks the top U.S. medical malpractice writers.

Also, in BestWeek Europe:

As the XXIX Olympiad starts, fans of the national teams aren’t the only ones antsy about what happens at the event. A lot of brokers, underwriters, insurers and reinsurers will be eyeing the 2008 Olympic Games as well.

And in both editions of BestWeek:

The Best’s Global Insurance Composite Index finished the week of August 14 down 19.28% from a year ago.

BestWeek is published by A.M. Best Co. for insurance professionals. To subscribe, please call A.M. Best’s customer service department at (908) 439-2200, ext. 5742, or e-mail your request to customer_service@ambest.com.

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.