Four Banks Fail; 2011 Tally Now 55

WASHINGTON (TheStreet) -- State regulators on Friday shuttered two banks in Georgia and one each in Florida and Arizona, bringing this year's total number of U.S. bank failures to 55.

All four banks were previously included in TheStreet's first-quarter Bank Watch List of undercapitalized institutions, based on regulatory data provided by SNL Financial.

Ameris snaps up two more failed institutions.

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance shuttered High Trust Bank of Stockbridge, which had $192.5 million in total assets and $189.5 million in deposits, and One Georgia Bank of Atlanta, which had 186.3 million in assets and $162.1 million in deposits.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver and sold both failed institutions to Ameris Bank of Moultrie, Ga., which is the main subsidiary of Ameris Bancorp (ABCB).

The FDIC agreed to absorb 80% of losses on $164.8 million of the assets Ameris acquired from High Trust Bank and $146.3 million in assets acquired from One Georgia Bank. The agency estimated that the cost to the deposit insurance fund would be $66 million for High Trust Bank's failure, and $44.4 million for the failure of One Georgia Bank.

All three branches of the failed banks were scheduled to reopen during normal business hours as Ameris Bank branches.

Ameris Bank's previous two failed-bank acquisitions were Darby Bank & Trust of Vidalia, Ga., and Tifton Banking Company of Tifton, Ga., both on November 10.

First Peoples Bank

The Florida Office of Financial Regulation closed First Peoples Bank of Port St. Lucie. The FDIC was appointed receiver and sold the failed bank's $228.3 million in total assets and $209.7 million in deposits to Premier American Bank, NA of Miami.

The FDIC estimated that the failure of First Peoples Bank would cost the deposit insurance fund $7.4 million. The six First Peoples branches were set to reopen as Premier American Bank branches during normal business hours.

Summit Bank

the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions shut down Summit Bank of Prescott, which had $72 million in total assets and $66.4 million in deposits. As receiver, the FDIC sold the failed institution's deposits for a 0.25% premium to The Foothills Bank of Yuma, Ariz.

The Foothills Bank also agreed to assume Summit Bank's assets.

The failed bank's office was scheduled to reopen Monday as a branch of The Foothills Bank. The FDIC estimated the cost of Summit Bank's failure to the deposit insurance fund would be $11.3 million.

Thorough Bank Failure Coverage

All bank and thrift closures since the beginning of 2008 are detailed in TheStreet's interactive bank failure map:

The bank failure map is color-coded, with the states having the greatest number of failures highlighted in dark gray, and states with no failures in light green. By moving your mouse over a state you can see its combined 2008-2011 totals. Then click the state to open a detailed map pinpointing the locations and providing additional information for each bank failure

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-- Written by Philip van Doorn in Jupiter, Fla.

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Philip W. van Doorn is a member of TheStreet's banking and finance team, commenting on industry and regulatory trends. He previously served as the senior analyst for TheStreet.com Ratings, responsible for assigning financial strength ratings to banks and savings and loan institutions. Mr. van Doorn previously served as a loan operations officer at Riverside National Bank in Fort Pierce, Fla., and as a credit analyst at the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, where he monitored banks in New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico. Mr. van Doorn has additional experience in the mutual fund and computer software industries. He holds a bachelor of science in business administration from Long Island University.