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A number of local and regional banks have gone bankrupt over the last three years. Most were heavily over-invested in commercial real estate - warehouses, offices and strip malls that are mostly vacant and producing no income to pay off the loans.
So what happens when a bank is bankrupt? The bank regulators are supposed to step in and take the bank over. But it usually means the management gets kicked out and employees often lose their jobs. Banks are usually closed on Friday afternoon to give regulators time to clean up and be ready for business on Monday.
The Commissioner of Nevada's Financial Institutions Division, George Burns, tells us what happens when he and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shut a bank down.
George Burns, Commissioner, State of Nevada Financial Institutions Division