Kansas, Colorado, Georgia Banks Shut as Losses Mount (Update1)

By Ari Levy and Margaret Chadbourn

March 21 (Bloomberg) -- Banks in Kansas, Colorado and Georgia were seized, pushing this year’s tally of failed U.S. lenders to 20, as foreclosures surged amid a recession and the highest unemployment in a quarter century.

The banks with $1.1 billion in total assets and $853 million in deposits were shut by regulators, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was named receiver, according to e- mailed statements yesterday from the FDIC.

Deposits of TeamBank in Paola, Kansas, will be passed to Great Southern Bank in Springfield, Missouri, and Herring Bank in Amarillo, Texas, is assuming deposits of Colorado National Bank in Colorado Springs. Both failed banks were owned by Team Financial Inc. in Paola. Regulators were unable to find a buyer for FirstCity Bank of Stockbridge, Georgia, and the FDIC will send payments to insured depositors beginning March 23.

The U.S. economy has shed 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. Unemployment jumped to 8.1 percent in February, the highest in more than 25 years. A $787 billion government stimulus package is aimed at creating or saving 3.5 million jobs and easing credit.

“The FDIC will fulfill its obligation to insured depositors by mailing checks for their insured amounts,â€