The American economy might be reviving but the count of bank collapses are rising by the day, with 26 entities biting the dust so far in 2010.

The country's banking sector, which was rattled by the financial turmoil, continues to remain shaky, with small and medium banks suffering the most.

A whopping 180 banks have gone belly up since the bankruptcy of the then Wall Street major Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

Starting the month on a jittery note, four entities - Centennial Bank, Waterfield Bank, Bank of Illinois and Sun American Bank - were closed down on March 5.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the failure of the four banks would cost the agency USD 304.8 million.

The FDIC, which acts as the caretaker of collapsed banks, had shut down seven entities last month. In January, the count of failures stood at 15.

Small and medium banks are grappling with rising defaults in the wake of high unemployment levels.

In February, the jobless rate in the country stood at 9.7 per cent, unchanged from the previous month.

Meanwhile, boosted by huge public spending, the US economy has been expanding at a healthy pace in recent quarters.