Problem banks

The FDIC says it was watching 702 of them in the fourth quarter of 2009, up from 252 for the same period a year earlier. "Problem" banks are those receiving closer scrutiny by the feds, usually because they have weak capital cushions to prevent against failure. Keep in mind that not all problem banks will fail, but being on the list is not a great sign. The feds don't release the actual names, but Calculated Risk keeps a running unofficial tally, based on regulator press releases or public news sources it's come across. At last check, CR identified 617 problem banks; I've pulled down the list of the locals. As you can see, most of them are small and little known (one notable exception being Hanmi Bank, which has gotten killed by commercial real estate loans).

--American Continental Bank City of Industry
--Bay Cities National Bank Redondo Beach
--Coast National Bank San Luis Obispo
--Excel National Bank Beverly Hills
--First Standard Bank Los Angeles
--First Vietnamese American Bank Westminster
--Gateway Business Bank Cerritos
--Golden Coast Bank Long Beach
--Golden Security Bank Rosemead
--Golden State Bank Upland
--Hanmi Bank Los Angeles
--Independence Bank Newport Beach
--International City Bank, National Association Long Beach
--Merchants Bank of California, National Association Carson
--Mission Oaks National Bank Temecula
--National Bank of California Los Angeles
--Pan American Bank Los Angeles
--Plaza Bank Irvine
--Saehan Bank Los Angeles
--San Luis Trust Bank, FSB San Luis Obispo
--Uniti Bank Buena Park
--Ventura County Business Bank Oxnard
--Western Commercial Bank Woodland Hills