What were the biggest U.S. bank failures?

Washington Mutual, which failed in September 2008 with $307 billion in assets, is the biggest U.S. bank failure on record. Next come First Republic Bank ($213 billion) and Silicon Valley Bank ($209 billion), both in 2023, then Signature Bank ($110 billion), also in 2023. Assets are what each bank owned at its last report before it failed, in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation, so older failures look smaller than they were.

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Chartly. “What were the biggest U.S. bank failures?” Chart. Data: FDIC BankFind Suite, bank failures and assistance data, https://banks.data.fdic.gov/bankfind-suite/failures (data as of July 17, 2026). https://chart.ly/charts/biggest-bank-failures (accessed September 27, 2026).

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Bank (year it failed) Assets when it failed, dollars
Washington Mutual Bank (2008) 307,021,614,000
First Republic Bank (2023) 212,638,872,000
Silicon Valley Bank (2023) 209,026,000,000
Signature Bank (2023) 110,363,650,000
IndyMac Bank F.S.B (2008) 30,698,512,000
Colonial Bank (2009) 25,455,112,000
First RepublicBank-Dallas (1988) 17,085,655,000
Guaranty Bank (2009) 13,464,352,000
Bank of New England (1991) 13,428,614,000
Gibraltar Savings, FA (1989) 13,382,327,000
BankUnited, FSB (2009) 13,111,463,000
Downey Savings and Loan Association, F.A. (2008) 12,779,371,000
HomeFed Bank, FA (1992) 12,175,590,000
AmTrust Bank (2009) 11,438,990,000
Southeast Bank (1991) 11,026,691,000
United Commercial Bank (2009) 10,895,336,000
Westernbank Puerto Rico (2010) 10,797,345,000
Goldome (1991) 9,890,866,000
City Savings, FSB (1989) 9,813,776,000
Imperial Federal Savings Assoc. (1990) 9,581,584,000
Great American FSA (1991) 9,523,603,000
Franklin FSA (1990) 9,258,163,000
CenTrust Bank, SB (1990) 8,217,563,000
Empire of America FSB (1990) 8,173,572,000
California National Bank (2009) 7,781,100,000