Another Top 40 Failure

Regulators did not take the week off in deciding that 14th-ranked Montgomery Bank & Trust of Ailey, Georgia needed to be closed today.  Ameris Bank of Moultrie, Georgia agreed to assume all of $164.4 million in deposits of Montgomery Bank & Trust. Ameris Bank, a frequent acquirer of seized  banks over the last few years agreed only to purchase approximately $12.4 million in largely cash assets, however. As a result, the FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be a significant $75.2 million in terms of the percentage of assets of the failed bank. Ameris Bank is itself a relatively weak bank with a ranking of 435th out the 7300 currently in our ratings. This may explain their inability to assume the assets of another failed bank.