U.S. banking regulators took over six more banks on Friday, bringing the 2009 bank failure tally to 130. So, even with the post-financial crisis situation stabilizing a year later, the continued stream of bank failures serves as a stark reminder that we aren't out of the woods yet. Smaller banks are expected to continue to fail at an higher rate through next year, due in large part to the pressures of deteriorating loans.

Of course, unemployment will continue to be a problem, as it impairs the abilities of borrowers to repay their debts. The squeeze appears to be lightening, as job cuts slowed considerably in November, but the unemployment rate is nonetheless expected to peak next year.

Sales of safes are booming in New York and probably around the United States. (SentrySafe is a large safe manufacturer that probably has an opportunity for an IPO if it's profitable -- its stock would represent another great "fear play.") The price of gold hit $927 an ounce this week. And stock in Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ: SWHC) is up 79% since inauguration day (despite losing $76 million in its fourth quarter).

It's beginning to feel a bit like the period after 9/11 when people went out and bought gas masks, duct tape, and the antibiotic Cipro.

The FDIC took over three more banks yesterday bringing the total number of bank failures so far this year to nine. As I posted, the FDIC likes to close banks on Friday after hours so they can reopen as branches of the acquiring bank on the following Monday morning. It remains to be seen whether the FDIC has enough money in its deposit insurance fund to handle its obligations for 2009 and beyond.

As it did last year, the FDIC is closing small banks while the Treasury and the Fed continue to keep the very largest ones from collapsing under the weight of their bad assets. On Friday, regulators closed banks in Georgia and California including:

Since several banks have been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), many depositors who had limited their accounts to the $100,000 guarantee have been taken by surprise to find the funds are not immediately available for withdrawal, sometimes only learning that fact after waiting hours in line.

It is a peculiarity of government to sometimes punish the innocent with a very logical bureaucratic nuance. In this case, depositors should be aware the FDIC will indeed make good on its promise. The problem is that all accounts with more than $100,000 are frozen until they can sort out who is due what.

Since a $100,000 account can become larger due to collected interest, access to money is held up even if the overage is by a small amount. However, if the account is smaller, then there is no question and the money can be released.

So although funds are not at risk in the long run, in the short run, access may be restricted. Therefore, you may find it safer to keep $99,000 in your account than $100,000, or you should have all the interest automatically deposited in another account so you do not go over the limit.

All of this is not material except in the most extreme of circumstances. On the other hand, that is when a delay in access to your funds is also the most critical.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.