WASHINGTON (
TheStreet) - State regulators closed four community banks Friday, bringing the total number of failed banks for 2010 to 72.
Year-to-date bank failures were more than double the pace for the same period in 2009, when there were 33 bank closures.
All four of the banks that failed on Friday had been previously assigned E-minus (Very Weak) financial strength ratings by
TheStreet.com Ratings and all four were included in
TheStreet's Bank Watch List, which included undercapitalized banks, based on a preliminary set of first quarter regulatory data.
Midwest Bank & Trust
The largest bank failure on Friday was
Midwest Bank & Trust of Elmwood Park, Ill, which was the main subsidiary of
Midwest Banc Holdings (
MBHI). After state regulators took over the institution, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was appointed receiver and sold Midwest to
FirstMerit Bank, NA of Akron, Ohio, which is held by
FirstMerit Corp (
FMER).
While Midwest Bank & Trust faced mounting loan losses, the deterioration of the bank's capital first came to a head when the government-sponsored mortgage giants
Fannie Mae (
FNM) and
Freddie Mac (
FRE) were placed under government conservatorship in September 2008. On the holding company level, Midwest Banc Holdings reported total 2008 losses and impairment charges of nearly $82 million on the company's investments in preferred shares of
Fannie and Freddie.
FirstMerit paid the FDIC a premium of 0.4% for Midwest Bank & Trust's $2.4 billion in deposits, and the FDIC agreed to share in losses on $2.3 billion of the assets First Merit acquired. Midwest's 23 offices were scheduled to reopen Saturday as FirstMerit branches.
> > Bull or Bear? Vote in Our Poll The bank failure was expected to cost the FDIC's deposit insurance fund $216.4 million, although FirstMerit also granted the agency a "value appreciation instrument," which will probably lead to another payment from FirstMerit to the FDIC later on.
Satilla Community Bank
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed
Satilla Community Bank of Saint Marys, which had $135.7 million in assets. The FDIC sold the failed bank for a small premium on deposits to
Ameris Bank of Multrie, Ga., which is the main subsidiary of
Ameris Bancorp (
ABCB), and has now purchased three failed Georgia banks.
Satilla Community Bank's sole office was set to reopen Monday as a branch of Ameris Bank. The FDIC agreed to share in losses on $101 million of the assets acquired by Ameris, and expected the failure to cost the deposit insurance fund $31.3 million.
New Liberty Bank
Michigan regulators shuttered
New Liberty Bank of Plymouth, which had $109 million in total assets. The FDIC arranged for
Bank of Ann Arbor of Ann Arbor, Mich., to assume the failed bank's deposits and assets. The FDIC agreed to share in losses on $95 million of the assets acquired by Bank of Ann Arbor, and was not paid a premium for the deposits. New Liberty's office was scheduled to reopen Saturday as a Bank of Ann Arbor branch, and the FDIC estimated the cost to the deposit insurance fund would be $25 million.
Southwest Community Bank
The Missouri Division of Finance took over
Southwest Community Bank of Springfield, which had $97 million in total assets and was sold to
Simmons First National Bank of Pine Bluff, Ark. Simmons First is a subsidiary of
Simmons First National Corp (
SFNC).
Simmons paid the FDIC a 0.50% premium for the failed bank's deposits, and the FDIC agreed to share in losses on $67 million of the acquired assets. Southwest Community's sole office was to reopen Saturday as a Simmons First Branch. The FDIC estimated the bank failure would cost the deposit insurance fund $29 million.
Ongoing Bank Failure Coverage
The bank failure map is color-coded, with the states having the greatest number of failures highlighted in red, and states with no failures in grey. By moving your mouse over a state you can see its combined 2008-2010 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.
