SCHERERVILLE | Myths abound regarding the economic crisis and the role banks played in creating it, local banker David Bochnowski told members of the Lake County Advancement Committee on Friday.

Bochnowski, chairman and chief executive officer of Munster-based Northwest Indiana Bancorp, the parent company of Peoples Bank, sought to debunk what he deemed a number of misconceptions during his presentation, "Banking 101: Changing Realities in the Financial Landscape," at Teibel's Restaurant in Schererville.

One of the most prevalent myths is that banks are failing all over the country, Bochnowski said.

During last year and to date in 2009, 43 U.S. banks closed or merged. By comparison, 1,368 banks closed or merged from 1987 through 1992, he said.

"We were coming out of a terrible economy then. More than 100,000 jobs were lost in this community alone during that time," Bochnowski said.

In 1991, more than 1,500 banks were on the FDIC's "problem list," he said. By the end of 2008, 252 banks were considered to have problems by the FDIC, which insures individual bank accounts up to $250,000, Bochnowski added.

Another common misconception is that banks are being bailed out by taxpayers, Bochnowski said. There are 8,300 banks in the United States. Of those, 472 banks, or almost 6 percent, have taken federal bailout money, and 15 of those have indicated they will withdraw from the assistance program, he said.

"The number of banks withdrawing from the program is exponentially rising," Bochnowski said. "No bank headquartered in Lake County has taken federal assistance."

In addition, he said, banks that have taken bailout funds must pay back the loans with interest.