Bank Failures: 1 in 8?

In an article we posted a few weeks ago here, we asked the question, "How many banks do you guesstimate will fail in 2009?".

Now, RBC Capital is predicting that more than 1,000 U.S. banks, or one in eight lenders, may fail in the next three to five years as commercial loan losses rise, compounding problems from record mortgage delinquencies and soaring home equity loan defaults.

That rate of failures would recall the height of the savings and loan collapse, when 1,386 lenders failed from 1988 to 1990, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp data.

Anyone want to revise their 2009 guesstimate now? Use the comment link below and chime in with your guess. We'd love to hear from you. Don't worry, your email address will NEVER be published on our site.