WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2010 - Regulators shut down banks Friday in Florida, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, bringing to nine the number of bank failures so far in 2010, following 140 closures last year in the toughest economic environment since the Great Depression.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the five banks: Charter Bank, based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with $1.2 billion in assets and $851.5 million in deposits; Miami-based Premier American Bank, with $350.9 million in assets and $326.3 million in deposits; Bank of Leeton in Leeton, Missouri, with $20.1 million in assets and $20.4 million in deposits; Columbia River Bank, based in The Dalles, Oregon, with $1.1 billion in assets and $1 billion in deposits; and Seattle-based Evergreen Bank, with $488.5 million in assets and $439.4 million in deposits.