Financial Roundup: SEC Decides To Keep Mark-To-Market, Citadel Retreats, New Bank Failure, Mortgage Mess

Mark-to-market sticking around - Despite protests from the banking industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission will not suspend the controversial mark-to-market accounting rule. Some in the banking industry have blamed the accounting rule for worsening the credit crunch. The SEC, however, is open to discussing ways to refine the rule’s application. [Source: Marketwatch.com].

Citadel sounds Asia retreat - Chicago-based hedge fund giant Citadel Investment Group is closing its Tokyo office and laying off 12 people. The company says it intends to refocus on opportunities in other global markets besides Asia, including the U.S. Citadel is the latest in a string of U.S.-based hedge funds to pull back from Asia, including Blackstone Group and Ramius LLC. [Source: Wall Street Journal].

That’s 23 bank failures and counting - First Georgia Community Bank was closed by state regulators last week, making it the 23rd bank failure of the year. It was reopened over the weekend as part of the United Bank of Zebulon, Ga. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimates that the cost of takeover to the deposit insurance fund will be $72.2 million. First Georgia Community Bank had total assets of $237.5 million and total deposits of $197.4 million. [Source: CNNMoney.com]

More Mortgage Meltdowns - No sign of the mortgage crisis easing yet. Home delinquency rates rose 54 percent during the third quarter compared with the year-ago period, according to a new TransUnion.com report. The ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due rose for the seventh straight quarter to a national average high of 3.96 percent. That’s up more than 12 percent from the second quarter and 54 percent from the same period last year. [Source: Businessweek].