ANB Financial, a $2.1bn bank in Arkansas, was on Friday closed down by US regulators, and became largest bank failure of the year and the third largest failure since the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s.

The development comes amid warnings by some regulators of a likely increase in bank failures, which have been at historically low levels. ANB had about $2.1bn in assets and $1.8bn in total deposits as of January 31, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which guarantees bank deposits.