It has been reported that the number of U. S. bank failures increased to 96 this year when federal regulators shut down six banks in Florida, Michigan and South Carolina.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that the financial crisis that led to 140 bank failures last year has now begun to hurt smaller banks and regulators have been closing banks this year at nearly double the pace of 2009.

The six banks closed Friday will cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s deposit insurance fund about $334.8 million.

Bank failures included First National Bank of the South, based in Spartanburg, S. C., which had reported $682 million in total assets and $610.1 million in total deposits as of the end of March.

The FDIC has said that a subsidiary of North American Financial Holdings Inc., NAFH National Bank, acquired all of the deposits and nearly all of the failed bank's assets.

It has further been reported that NAFH National Bank also stepped in to take over two Florida-based banks on Friday, purchasing the deposits and nearly all the assets of Miami-based Metro Bank of Dade County and Turnberry Bank of Aventura, Fla. Metro Bank had reported assets of $442.3 million and deposits of $391.3 million as of the end of March, while Turnberry Bank had assets of $263.9 million and deposits of $196.9 million.

Old Cypress Community Bank was the third Florida-based bank, which was closed on Friday, with regulators blaming under-performing assets and seven quarters worth of operating losses. The FDIC said CenterState Bank of Florida acquired that bank's $162.4 million in total deposits and nearly all of its $168.7 million in assets. (With Inputs from Agencies)