U.S. authorities closed nine failed banks on Friday, bringing the number of banks that had succumbed to the 2009 nationwide crisis to 115. That statistic lasted until Sunday—when retail lending giant cit Group filed for bankruptcy protection.

Friday marked the largest one-day government seizure since the financial crisis began taking down banks two years ago. It is just the latest indication that, in spite of some recent positive economic indicators, significant segments of the nation’s banking industry are far from in the clear.

Among the nine failed lenders was the California National Bank, which was—for two days—the fourth-largest bank to fail this year. cit Group’s collapse pushed it down to fifth.

With loan defaults soaring, home prices plummeting, and unemployment climbing, bank failures have surged, draining billions from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (fdic). The deposit insurance fund was sent into a deficit in September, and the nine latest closures will cost it a further $2.5 billion. Unless the fdic raises insurance premiums dramatically, every bank failure from this point forward will directly impact taxpayers and the already-strained federal budget deficit. The impact could be substantial.

Home foreclosures continue to impact bank balance sheets, but analysts expect the next major threat to come from the commercial sector, which is expected to worsen as more strip malls close and residential developments shut down.

According to Federal Reserve data, banks held $1.7 trillion in commercial real-estate loans at the end of September. As these loans weaken, small banks may suffer disproportionately because larger banks are generally better diversified.

This recent wave of bank closures is another indication that the recession is not over. Judging from past recessions, the worst is yet to come.

The world economy is drastically changing. The dollar is devaluing, and foreign investors are abandoning the U.S. as investor confidence shifts to Europe. The spillover effects of America’s banking crisis are driving European unification—a scenario Herbert W. Armstrong spoke of for decades.

To learn about the true significance of the world’s quickly changing economic landscape, read “Right on the Money” and “New Global Trend: Dump a Dollar, Buy a Euro.”