In mid-2007, the FDIC told New Frontier Bank, which had enjoyed some glowing press, that it need to slow growth and add capital. The FDIC cited weak management, a rise in bad loans and an increased reliance on brokered funds, reports Bloomberg, in an eye-catching look at a failed small bank.

But the Colorado bank wasn't actually shut until two years later--"a delay that may have made the closing more costly." The closing of New Frontier Bank suggests that timing is of great importance when shutting down banks. In hindsight, regulators perhaps should have acted quicker.

The FDIC's inspector general, among others, has criticized the institution for not moving more forthrightly in some cases. Certainly, risk management tools need to be upgraded at the government level, a movement that is slow to get underway. But perhaps the old metrics need to be supplemented with better, more predictive data. 

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