Between January 2008 and December 2011, a period of economic downturn in the United States, 414 insured U.S. banks failed. Of these, 85 percent or 353 had less than $1 billion in assets. These small banks often specialize in small business lending and are associated with local community development and philanthropy. These small bank failures have raised questions about the contributing factors in the states with the most failures, including the possible role of local market conditions and the application of fair value accounting under U.S accounting standards. This book discusses the factors that contributed to the bank failures in states with the most failed institutions between 2008 and 2011 and what role, if any, fair value accounting played in these failures; the use of shared loss agreements in resolving troubled banks; and the effect of recent bank failures on local communities.