---
title: Regulators Shut Nano Banc, the Largest US Bank to Fail in 2026 So Far
description: California closed Nano Banc on Sept. 25, 2026. The FDIC puts the cost at $114 million, the most of any US bank failure this year. What depositors need to know.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-09-27T13:04:46.973Z
updated: 2026-09-27T13:04:46.983Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/nano-banc-largest-us-bank-failure-2026
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-an-atm-machine-stands-in-a-modern-bank-lobby-next-to-a-plant-36328523.jpg
categories: Markets
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed Nano Banc of Irvine on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, the largest US bank failure so far this year. Nano Banc reported total assets of $736 million at June 30, more than double the $288 million reported by the next-largest bank to fail in 2026. The FDIC estimates the closure will cost its Deposit Insurance Fund about $114 million, the most of any failure this year.

The state regulator appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver, and the FDIC [sold substantially all of Nano Banc's deposits and about $476 million of its assets](https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2026/sunwest-bank-assumes-all-deposits-and-certain-assets-nano-banc-irvine) to Sunwest Bank of Sandy, Utah.

Neither the FDIC nor Sunwest gave a reason for the failure in their announcements. The Federal Reserve had placed the bank and its parent companies under a [cease-and-desist order in January 2022 and ended the order in March 2025](https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h2/20250405/).

## Nano Banc's Depositors Moved to Sunwest Automatically

Nano Banc's customers are now Sunwest depositors, and their deposits remain insured by the FDIC, "so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship," the agency said. The FDIC said the bank's only branch would reopen as a Sunwest branch on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, and that over the closing weekend customers could reach their money by check, ATM or debit card, with checks drawn on Nano Banc still processed.

The FDIC told borrowers to keep making their loan payments as usual. Sunwest said it assumed about $227 million of Nano Banc's loans. The FDIC is keeping the assets Sunwest did not buy and will sell them over time, and it expects its cost estimate to change as those sales go through. Customers with questions can call the FDIC at 1-866-314-1744.

## Six US Banks Have Failed in 2026, Up From Two in All of 2025

Nano Banc is the sixth US bank failure of 2026 on the [FDIC's failed bank list](https://www.fdic.gov/bank-failures/failed-bank-list), after two failures in all of 2025 and two in 2024. The other five were Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust in Chicago, Community Bank and Trust - West Georgia in LaGrange, Georgia, Kentland Federal Savings and Loan Association in Indiana, Small Business Bank in Lenexa, Kansas, and Tioga-Franklin Savings Bank in Philadelphia.

Before Nano Banc, the costliest failure of 2026 was the West Georgia bank, which regulators closed on May 1 at an estimated cost to the fund of about $97 million. About $27 million of its deposits were above the [FDIC's insurance limit](https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/understanding-deposit-insurance), and its buyer, Anchor Bank, took on only the insured deposits. The FDIC said it may pay those uninsured depositors later, depending on what it recovers. The FDIC's agreement with Sunwest covers substantially all of Nano Banc's deposits.

## Sunwest Bank Says Nano Banc Is Its Sixth FDIC-Assisted Acquisition

Sunwest, founded in 1969, is a privately held commercial bank based in Sandy, Utah, with more than $5 billion in assets and offices in California, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Utah and Florida. Carson Lappetito, Sunwest's president and chief executive, said the FDIC had again chosen the bank as the buyer in an assisted acquisition, "marking the sixth time Sunwest Bank has completed such a transaction."

## FAQ

**Q: Do you lose your money if a bank fails?**
Not money within the insurance limit. The FDIC says no depositor has lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds since the agency was founded in 1933.

**Q: How much does the FDIC insure?**
The FDIC insures deposits to at least $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category, at each FDIC-insured bank. Because the limit applies to each ownership category separately, a depositor with accounts in more than one category at the same bank can be covered for more than $250,000 in total.

**Q: How common is it for banks to fail?**
Before 2026, the last year with more than two US bank failures was 2023, when five banks failed, including Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank.

**Q: Where does the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund get its money?**
The fund has two sources: assessments, which are insurance premiums charged to FDIC-insured banks, and interest earned on its investments in US government obligations. Losses, mainly from bank failures, reduce the balance, and the US government backs the fund with its full faith and credit. The FDIC's early cost estimates for the six failures of 2026 add up to about $243 million.