Seven Banks Fail, 2010 Tally Now at 37

Seven Banks Fail, 2010 Tally Now at 37
By Philip van Doorn
3/20/10 - 11:40 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (TheStreet) -- Regulators shut down seven banks Friday, bringing this year's total number of U.S. bank and thrift failures to 37.

The failed banks had combined total assets of $3.32 billion. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. acted as receiver in all seven failures. After finding buyers for six of the failed institutions, the FDIC estimated the total cost to its deposit insurance fund would be $1.28 billion.

TheStreet.com Ratings had previously assigned E (Very Weak) or lower financial strength ratings to all seven banks, and all were included in TheStreet.com's listing of undercapitalized banks.

American National Bank

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency shuttered American National Bank of Parma, Ohio. The failed institution had $70 million in total assets and was acquired by The National Bank & Trust Company of Wilmington, Ohio, the main subsidiary of NB&T Financial Group(NBTF). The FDIC agreed to share in losses on about $50 million of the acquired assets and estimated the cost to its deposit insurance fund would be $17.1 million.

American National Bank's office was scheduled to reopen Monday as a branch of National Bank & Trust Company.

Century Security Bank

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed Century Security Bank. The FDIC arranged for Bank of Upson of Thomaston, Ga., to assume the failed bank's deposits and its total assets of about $97 million. Bank of Upson is held by SouthCrest Financial(SCSG). The FDIC agreed to share in losses on roughly $82 million of the acquired assets and estimated the cost to its deposit insurance fund would be $29.9 million.

Century Security's two offices were set to reopen as Bank of Upson branches during normal business hours Saturday.

Advanta Bank Corp

The Utah Department of Financial Institutions shuttered Advanta Bank Corp., which had $1.6 billion in total assets. Since the FDIC was unable to find another institution to take over the failed bank, the agency announced that retail depositors would have checks mailed to them on Monday for their insured balances, while brokered deposits would be paid out directly to the brokers. The FDIC estimated that uninsured deposits totaled $247,000 but said this figure was likely to change when it received additional information from customers.

The FDIC estimated that the cost to the deposit insurance fund from Advanta's failure would be $635.6 million.

Appalachian Community Bank

Georgia regulators closed Appalachian Community Bank of Ellijay, which had roughly $1 billion in total assets and was a subsidiary of Appalachian Bancshares(APAB). Another subsidiary of Appalachian Bancshares, Appalachian Community Bank, FSB, continued to operate, however.

The FDIC sold the failed bank to Community & Southern Bank of Carrollton, Ga., which paid a 1% premium for acquired deposits. Community & Southern was newly organized when it acquired the failed First National Bank of Georgia in January.

The FDIC agreed to share in losses on $799 million of the assets acquired by Community & Southern Bank, and Appalachian Community Bank's 10 branches were scheduled to reopen Saturday as Community & Southern branches.

Bank of Hiawassee

Georgia Regulators also shut down Bank of Hiawassee, which had $378 million in total assets. The FDIC sold it to Citizens South Bank of Gastonia, N.C., a subsidiary of Citizens South Banking Corp.(CSBC).

The FDIC received a 1% premium for the failed bank's deposits and, after agreeing to share in losses on $233 million of the assets acquired by Citizens South, estimated the cost to the insurance fund would be $137.7 million.

Bank of Hiawassee's five branches were set to reopen Saturday as branches of Citizens South Bank.

First Lowndes Bank

The Alabama Banking Department closed First Lowndes Bank of Fort Deposit, Ala., which had $137 million in total assets. The FDIC arranged for First Citizens Bank of Luverne, Ala., to take over the failed institution and agreed to share in losses on $104 million of the acquired assets.

The FDIC estimated the cost to its insurance fund would be $38.3 million. First Lowndes Bank's four branches were scheduled to reopen during normal business hours Saturday.

State Bank of Aurora

State Regulators in Minnesota shut down State Bank of Aurora, and the FDIC sold the failed institution to Northern State Bank of Ashland, Wis. The failed bank had $28 million in total assets, and Northern State paid a 0.5% premium for the deposits.

The FDIC agreed to share in losses on $21 million of the assets acquired by Northern State, and estimated the cost to the insurance fund would be $4.2 million. State Bank of Aurora's office was scheduled to reopen Monday as a Northern State branch.

Ongoing Bank Failure Coverage

All previous bank and thrift failures since the beginning of 2008 are detailed in TheStreet.com's interactive bank failure map.

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