In this Monday, Feb. 2, 2009, file photo, FDIC, bank personnel and a sheriff deputy work inside the corporate office of MagnetBank in Salt Lake City. The banking industry has come a long way since the financial crisis struck in 2008. A sturdier economy, healthier loan portfolios, low interest rates, higher fees on bank accounts and a wave of mergers have combined to reduce the number of bank failures. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, May 10, 2012, file photo, automobiles pass a JP Morgan Chase building in New York. The banking industry has come a long way since the financial crisis struck in 2008. A sturdier economy, healthier loan portfolios, low interest rates, higher fees on bank accounts and a wave of mergers have combined to reduce the number of bank failures. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
FILE- In this Thursday, May 25, 2006, file photo, the offices of Alabama's two largest banks, Regions Financial Corp. and AmSouth Bancorp are shown across the street from each other in downtown Birmingham, Ala. Regions Financial Corp jumped in the first quarter in 2012 to $145 million, from $17 million a year earlier and a loss of $255 million in the first quarter of 2010. Regions issued more home and commercial loans, and its mortgage revenue jumped 35 percent. It also got approval from the Fed to repay the $3.5 billion bailout money it received during the financial crisis. And the money it set aside for loan losses was the lowest in more than four years. More of its customers are paying on time. (AP Photo/The Birmingham News, Bernard Troncale) MAGS OUT, NO SALES, NO INTERNET
WASHINGTON — Fewer U.S. banks are failing than at any time since the financial crisis erupted in 2008. The healthier banking industry is helping sustain an economy slowed by lackluster hiring, weak manufacturing and Europe’s debt crisis. Banks have benefited from low interest rates, higher …
