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BANKERS' (LAST) HOURS

June 05, 2008

Fascinating piece in the Wall Street Journal in which a reporter embedded with the FDIC in planning and executing a bank closing in Staples, Minnesota. The whole piece is for subscribers only on the web, but I think this slide show of pictures of the closing is available to nonsubscribers.

These things are done in great secrecy to avoid bank runs, but sometimes things go awry:

Despite the military-style planning that goes into taking over a bank, things can go wrong. Once, a local motel guessed the feds were coming and put up a welcome banner on the marquee. Another time, FDIC officials hired a hypnotist to get a confused bank employee to remember the vault code. Sometimes, locals pull up lawn chairs and watch from across the street.

You know it's a small down when the bank closing is the most interesting thing to watch.

There will be more of these in the coming months, I suspect.