Collapses of regional community banks continue to pad the FDIC’s failed bank list. The agency stepped in to close down nine on Friday – three in California, three in Texas, two in Illinois, and one in Arizona.

With these latest closures, the number of institutions to go under in 2009 now totals 115 – the highest number of failures in a single year since the savings & loan crisis.

All of the nine banks shut down Friday were banking subsidiaries of FBOP Corporation of Oak Park, Illinois. The FDIC facilitated an agreement with U.S. Bank of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp and one of the nation’s top 10 banks, to acquire the operations of the failed institutions.

Altogether, the nine different banks have more than $18.4 billion in assets, $15.4 billion in deposits, and 150 branches. U.S. Bank said in a corporate statement= that the transaction was a “low-risk” acquisition, noting that the FDIC has agreed to share in any losses on essentially all loans included in the deal.

As part of the acquisition, U.S. Bank said it will implement either the FDIC’s or other approved mortgage loan modification programs on residential mortgages assumed under the loss-share agreement, with a the ultimate objective of allowing the failed banks’ borrowers to remain in their homes.

The nine banks that are part of this acquisition are: BankUSA, N.A. in Phoenix; California National Bank in Los Angeles; Citizens National Bank in Teague, Texas; Madisonville State Bank in Madisonville, Texas; North Houston Bank in Houston, Texas; Pacific National Bank in San Francisco; Park National Bank in Chicago; San Diego National Bank in San Diego; and Community Bank of Lemont, Illinois.

U.S. Bank has turned the recent recession into a growth opportunity, grabbing up smaller regional and local banks that have succumbed to the economic pressures. In October, it bought BB&T’s Nevada banking operations to add to its presence in the state. U.S. Bank’s takeover of FBOP’s subsidiaries give it a larger market share in the key markets of California, Illinois, and Arizona, and a new footprint in Texas. A flurry of recent acquisition announcements by U.S. Bank range from a municipal bonds business to a mutual fund servicing division.

In June, U.S. Bancorp repaid the Treasury all of its $6.6 billion in Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout money, and last month, the company reported= net income of $603 million for the third quarter.

The FDIC estimates the closing of the nine FBOP subsidiary banks to cost the agency a combined $2.5 billion.