Ameribank 12th Bank Failure in 2008

None of Ameribank's depositors will lose money as a result of the closing, even if they had balances exceeding FDIC insurance limits.

All five of Ameribank's West Virginia branches have been acquired by Pioneer Community Bank of Iaeger, W.Va. All three of the failed institution's branches in Ohio were bought by Citizens Savings Bank of Martins Ferry, Ohio (held by United Bancorp (UBCP Quote)). These purchases included all uninsured balances.

The FDIC said the sale of all deposits to the two banks was the least costly option in Ameribank's closing, since "expected losses to uninsured depositors were fully covered by the premium paid for the bank's franchises." The cost of the closing to the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund was estimated to be $42 million.

Receivership, Uninsured Deposits

Out of the 12 bank and thrift closings during 2008, six failed institutions had all of their deposits, including those with balances exceeding FDIC limits, acquired by other institutions. FDIC spokesman David Barr pointed out that, typically, only about 25% of bank failures end up with uninsured deposits taking no losses.

For the other six banks and thrifts that failed this year, including larger institutions like IndyMac Bank, FSB and ANB Financial, depositors with uninsured balances became creditors to the FDIC receiverships for the uninsured amounts.

IndyMac received an advance dividend of 50 cents for each dollar of uninsured depositors when the FDIC took over the institution in July. At that time, IndyMac's uninsured deposits were estimated to be about $1 billion.