Failed Bank List

Closed Friday, November 21, 2008 · Newport Beach, Orange County, California

Downey Savings and Loan Association, F.A.

By total assets Downey Savings and Loan Association, F.A. is the 12th-largest of the 3,375 bank failures since 1934 for which the FDIC records a size, counted in dollars of the day. It was the largest of two banks handed to U.S. Bank, N.A. together on the day it closed. It was the third-largest of the 25 bank failures in 2008.

On the books, 2000 to 2008

Total assets and equity capital each quarter before closing, and the estimated lossTotal assetsEquity capitalEstimated loss$0$5B$10B$15B$20B20012002200320042005200620072008Closed
Total assets peaked at $17.8 billion in the first quarter of 2006 and were 28% lower at the final report. Equity capital stayed close to 8% of assets from the fourth quarter of 2000 to the last report. By then 13% of its loans were 90 days or more past due or no longer accruing interest. The deepest annual loss, $537 million, was booked in 2008 in only part of the year.
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−$600M2000: $106 million20006.6%2001: $127 million20017.5%2002: $119 million20027.3%2003: $109 million20038.3%2004: $118 million20047.5%2005: $225 million20058.0%2006: $212 million20069.2%2007: −$50.9 million200711%2008: −$537 million2008*7.5%
* 2008: January to September only, the last report before closing.

Size against the other 2008 failures

Total assets of the 25 banks that failed in 2008, log scale$10M$100M$1B$10B$100B$1,000B
Total assets of each 2008 failure, log scale; Downey Savings and Loan Association in red.

Within California it ranks fifth by size of the 239 failures recorded since 1934. Across the failures of 2008, the median estimated loss came to 37% of assets. Ranked by estimated loss, it is 243rd of 2,944 failures since 1934. In the size ranking of that year, just above it was IndyMac Bank of Pasadena, California ($30.7 billion, loss 39% of assets); just below, Franklin Bank, SSB of Houston, Texas ($5.1 billion, loss 12% of assets). Every 2008 failure in the explorer.

Closed together

With Downey Savings and Loan Association, the group reported $16.5 billion in assets, and the FDIC's estimated loss on all two is $410 million. They have no separate pages here.

The other banks in the same transaction
BankLocationTotal assetsEst. lossFounded
PFF Bank & TrustPomona, CA$3.7 billion$259 million1892

The only other bank closed that day outside this group was The Community Bank of Loganville, Georgia.

Failures in California

It was one of five banks in California to fail in 2008. The previous failure there was Security Pacific Bank of Los Angeles, on November 7, 2008. The next was 1st Centennial Bank of Redlands, on January 23, 2009. Orange County has 51 failed banks on FDIC record since 1934. Closest in time: Cornerstone Bank, FSB (1994), First Heritage Bank, NA (2008), MetroPacific Bank (2009), Pacific Coast National Bank (2009), First Vietnamese American Bank (2010).

Bank failures in California per year, 1980 to 2026081624321982: 21983: 61984: 71985: 111986: 171987: 121988: 31989: 281990: 211991: 211992: 181993: 241994: 101995: 51996: 21999: 12000: 12003: 12008: 52009: 172010: 122011: 42012: 12014: 12023: 22026: 119801990200020102020
Per year since 1980, 2008 in red. Every California failure

The acquiring bank

U.S. Bank, N.A. of Cincinnati, Ohio took over four failed banks between 2000 and 2026. Apart from the banks closed together with this one, the others:

All 4 banks it took over.

FDIC certificate 30968 · loss estimate as of July 31, 2026 · How to read this page