Regulators shut down seven more banks Thursday in a pre-holiday sweep that pushed the number of failures this year to 52.

Six of the banks closed Thursday were in Illinois. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., all six were controlled by a single family and had similar business models that created a concentration of risk around collateralized debt obligations and other holdings.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shut down Founders Bank, of Worth, Ill., and appointed the FDIC as receiver. It arranged for The PrivateBank and Trust Co. to assume the failed bank's 11 branches and roughly $849 million in deposits.

PrivateBank paid a 1.5 percent premium for the deposits. It also agreed to buy $888.4 million of the failed bank's assets, with $617 million of that amount subject to a loss-sharing deal with the FDIC.

Founders Bank had suffered heavy losses on securities and loans and had been ordered to raise $50 million in new capital. It was the biggest of the banks that were seized.

The others were First National Bank of Danville, in Danville, Ill.;  Elizabeth State Bank, in Elizabeth, Ill.; First State Bank of Winchester, in Winchester, Ill.;  Rock River Bank, of Oregon, Ill., John Warner Bank, of Clinton, Ill., and Millennium State Bank of Texas, in Dallas.

First National Bank of Danville's seven offices and $146 million in deposits were taken over by First Financial Bank N.A., of Terre Haute, Ind.

Elizabeth State Bank's branches and deposits were taken over by Galena State Bank and Trust, of Galena, Ill., while First State Bank of Winchester's operations were assumed by the First National Bank of Beardstown, in Beardstown, Ill.

Rock River Bank's branches and deposits were sold to Harvard State Bank, in Harvard, Ill., and John Warner Bank's operations were taken over by the State Bank of Lincoln, in Lincoln, Ill.

Millennium State Bank's lone office, its deposits and virtually all of its assets went to State Bank of Texas, in Irving.

The FDIC said the closings would cost its insurance fund around $314 million.

On June 9, State Street Corp. repaid the reasury Department $2 billion that it received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Now the bank is making headlines again, but for very different reasons.

Early this morning State Street Corp. filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission which disclosed that last Thursday the SEC served it with a Wells Notice.

The notice was delivered to State Street Bank and Trust Co., whose State Street Global Advisors unit as been hit numerous suits related to bond funds that suffered heavy losses because of investments in securities backed by subprime mortgages.

The filing adds:

"The notice relates to an ongoing SEC investigation into disclosures and management by State Street Global Advisors of certain active fixed-income strategies during 2007 and prior periods. The Wells notice informs State Street that the SEC staff intends to ask the SEC Commissioners for permission to bring a civil enforcement action for possible violations of the securities laws. State Street has been cooperating with the SEC in this inquiry and continues to cooperate with the Massachusetts Secretary of State, the Massachusetts Attorney General and other regulators in their related inquiries. Under the process established by the SEC, State Street will have an opportunity to present its perspective on these issues before any formal decision is made on an enforcement proceeding."

We will follow the matter and report on additional developments.

Regulators closed five banks on Friday, the biggest single-day total since the economic crisis began. The biggest of the five was Mirae Bank, of Los Angeles, which had $456 million in assets.

The latest closings bring the total for the year to 45, compared with 25 for all of 2008.

The California Department of Financial Institutions seized the bank and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver. It arranged for Wilshire State Bank, also of Los Angeles, to take over the failed bank's five branches and all of its $362 million in deposits.

Wilshire State Bank also bought roughly $449 million of Mirae's assets, with the FDIC agreeing a loss sharing arrangement on $341 million of that total.

Georgia regulators closed the Community Bank of West Georgia, in Villa Rica, Ga., and Neighborhood Community Bank, in Newman, Ga. Because nobody was willing to take over the Community Bank of West Georgia's operations, its $182.5 million in insured deposits will be paid out to customers.  

The FDIC arranged for CharterBank, of West Point, Ga., to take over the four branches and $191.3 million in deposits of Neighborhood Community Bank. CharterBank also agreed to buy $209.6 million in assets, with $178.5 million subject to loss-sharing arrangements.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce closed Horizon Bank, in Pine City, Minn., and appointed the FDIC as receiver. It arranged for Stearns Bank, of St. Cloud, Minn., to buy the bank's two offices and $69.4 million in deposits.

Stearns Bank paid a 0.75 percent premium for the deposits. It also agreed to buy $84.4 million of Horizon Bank's assets, with $65.1 million covered by a loss-sharing deal. Stearns previously took over another failed bank, Alpha Bank & Trust, in Georgia. That deal last October also was brokered by the FDIC.

The fifth bank to be closed Friday was MetroPacific Bank, of Irvine, Calif. California regulators seized that insititution and appointed the FDIC as receiver. It arranged for Sunwest Bank, of Tustin, Calif., to take over MetroPacific's single office, as well as all of its non-brokered deposits and nearly all of its $80 million in assets.

The FDIC said the latest found of bank closings will cost its insurance fund around $264.2 million.