U.S. regulators seize small New York bank

* LibertyPointe Bank seized by regulators

* Is 27th U.S. bank failure this year

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Regulators on Thursday seized a small New York bank, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 27.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said LibertyPointe Bank, of New York City, was closed by state regulators. Valley National Bank, of Wayne, N.J., is assuming all of LibertyPointe's deposits.

LibertyPointe had three branches and $209.7 million in total assets. The FDIC did not give a reason why it failed. It said the closure is expected to cost the FDIC's insurance fund $24.8 million.

Small banks are failing at a rapid pace, as institutions are still struggling with bad loans on their balance sheets. Large institutions rebounded more quickly than community banks, which tended to build up more concentrations of commercial real estate loans that have taken longer to unravel.

The FDIC has said this year will be peak year for failures in the current crisis. Last year 140 U.S. banks failed.

The LibertyPointe Bank branches will reopen on Friday as branches of Valley National Bank. The FDIC said it and Valley National Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $181.5 million of LibertyPointe Bank's assets.

The loss-share agreements are designed to entice bidders for failed banks and minimize disruptions for loan customers. (Reporting by Karey Wutkowski; editing by Carol Bishopric)