Failed Bank List

Closed Sunday, January 6, 1991 · Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Bank of New England, National Association

By total assets Bank of New England, National Association is the ninth-largest of the 3,375 bank failures since 1934 for which the FDIC records a size, counted in dollars of the day. No failed bank in Massachusetts was larger, of 56 on record there since 1934. In the three years to the fourth quarter of 1988, its assets grew 152%.

On the books, 1984 to 1990

Total assets and equity capital each quarter before closing, and the estimated lossTotal assetsEquity capitalEstimated loss$0$4B$8B$12B$16B198519861987198819891990Closed
Total assets peaked at $15.6 billion and were 14% lower at the final report. Equity capital went from 3.1% of assets in the first quarter of 1984 to below zero at the last report. By then 19% of its loans were 90 days or more past due or no longer accruing interest. The deepest annual loss, $543 million, was booked in 1990.
Net income in each reporting year before closing, with equity capital as a share of assets at year endNet income per yearEquity to assets at year end$600M−$600M1984: $26.8 million19844.5%1985: $48.9 million19854.8%1986: $86.0 million19864.9%1987: $8.7 million19874.4%1988: $139 million19884.7%1989: −$471 million19891.5%1990: −$543 million1990neg.

Size against the other 1991 failures

Total assets of the 268 banks that failed in 1991, log scale$1M$10M$100M$1B$10B$100B
Total assets of each 1991 failure, log scale; Bank of New England in red.

By assets it ranked first of the 268 failures in 1991. Ranked by estimated loss, it is 69th of 2,944 failures since 1934. The next-largest failure of that year was Southeast Bank, National Association of Miami, Florida ($11.0 billion, no estimated loss). Every 1991 failure in the explorer.

Two other banks closed that day; the largest was The Connecticut Bank and Trust Company, National Association of Hartford, Connecticut, at $7.2 billion.

Failures in Massachusetts

In 1991 regulators closed 15 banks in Massachusetts; this was the first. The previous failure there was Capitol Bank and Trust Company of Boston, on December 28, 1990. The next was Coolidge Corner Co-operative Bank of Brookline, on March 14, 1991. Suffolk County has 16 failed banks on FDIC record since 1934. Closest in time: First American Bank for Savings (1990), Capitol Bank and Trust Company (1990), The Blackstone Bank and Trust Company (1991), Boston Trade Bank (1991), Beacon Co-operative Bank (1991).

Bank failures in Massachusetts per year, 1980 to 2026051015201980: 11982: 11987: 21989: 11990: 111991: 151992: 171994: 22010: 119801990200020102020
Per year since 1980, 1991 in red. Every Massachusetts failure

FDIC certificate 2560 · loss estimate as of July 31, 2026 · How to read this page