by Calculated Risk on 6/05/2008 12:53:00 PM

From Reuters: Bigger U.S. bank failures may be coming - FDIC (hat tip Ed)

An increasing number of banks face high exposure to deteriorating conditions in commercial real estate and construction lending, [Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair] told a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the state of the banking industry.

"There is also the possibility that future failures could include institutions of greater size than we have seen in the recent past," Bair said. "Uncertainties in today's economic environment continue to pose significant challenges for the banking industry, households, and bank regulators."

The coming bank failures are no secret:

Feb 25, 2008: FDIC Bracing for Bank Failures

March 17, 2008: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Stresses Importance of Managing Commercial Real Estate Concentrations

April 17, 2008: Fed Vice Chairman Kohn Warns on CRE Concentrations at Small banks

Note: The largest bank to fail this year was ANB Financial with $2.1 billion in assets.