U.S. closes First Commerical Bank of Florida

WASHINGTON Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities closed First Commercial Bank of Florida on Friday, the first bank closing of 2011 as smaller financial institutions, in particular, continue to struggle with the depressed housing market and tepid economy.

Last year 157 banks failed, exceeding the 140 failures in 2009.

The bulk of the failures have increasingly been smaller institutions, each with less than a billion dollars in assets, as large banks have recovered more quickly from the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp announced the following closure on Friday:

* First Commercial Bank of Florida. Had assets of $598.5 million and $529.6 million in total deposits. First Southern Bank of Boca Raton, Florida is to assume the deposits. (Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)