Feb. 2012 Top 40

Each quarter The Bank Blog releases a new Top 40 ranking based on the most recent data available from various sources. The current version of the list should be viewed as preliminary, however, as technical changes to the data and other refinements often require minor updates.

In a shortened quarter The Bank Blog's continue to highlight the least stable U.S. Banks was well demonstrated. Of the 40 banks listed, 7 failed. Number 1 ranked Greystone Bank also surrendered their license. Of the surviving 32 banks, 27 remain on the updated list. The Bank Blog would like to caution our readers not to infer that those banks leaving the list are now safe. All five of those banks continue to rank among the weakest 2% of banks. 

Returning banks are listed in bold and newly failed banks are listed in italics.

1. NEW CITY BANK of CHICAGO IL
2. PISGAH COMMUNITY BANK of ASHEVILLE, NC
3. SECURITY BANK, N.A. of NORTH LAUDERDALE, FL
4. CENTRUST BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of NORTHBROOK, IL
5. PREMIER BANK of WILMETTE IL
6. 1ST COMMERCE BANK of NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV
7. BANK OF LAS VEGAS of LAS VEGAS, NV
8. U.S. CENTURY BANK of MIAMI FL
9. TRUMAN BANK of SAINT LOUIS MO
10. SUNRISE BANK of VALDOSTA, GA
11. MICHIGAN COMMERCE BANK of ANN ARBOR, MI
12. MONTGOMERY BANK & TRUST of AILEY, GA
13. THE PATTERSON BANK of PATTERSON, GA 
14. PALM DESERT NATIONAL BANK of PALM DESERT, CA
15. THE ROYAL PALM BANK OF FLORIDA of NAPLES, FL
16. DUPAGE NATIONAL BANK of WEST CHICAGO
17. FIRSTSECURE BANK AND TRUST CO. of PALOS HILLS, IL
18. CENTRAL BANK OF GEORGIA of ELLAVILLE, GA
19. EUROBANK of CORAL GABLES, FL
20. FARMERS & TRADERS STATE BANK of SHABBONA, IL
21. GEORGIA TRUST BANK of BUFORD, GA
22. OPTIMUMBANK of PLANTATION, FL
23. SOUTHERN COMMERCE BANK, N.A. of TAMPA, FL
24. FIRST CAPITAL BANK of GUTHRIE, OK 
25. BEACH COMMUNITY BANK of FORT WALTON BEACH, FL
26. HARVEST BANK OF MARYLAND of ROCKVILLE, MD
27. ROCKY MOUNTAIN BANK of WILSON, WY
28. BANK OF NAPLES of NAPLES, FL
29. THE LEADERS BANK of OAK BROOK, IL
30. GULFSOUTH PRIVATE BANK of DESTIN, FL
31. FRONTIER BANK of LA GRANGE, GA
32. AMERICAN ENTERPRISE BANK of BUFFALO GROVE IL
33. COMMUNITY SOUTH BANK of PARSONS, TN
34. CENTRAL ARIZONA BANK of SCOTTSDALE, AZ
35. TRANSCAPITAL BANK of SUNRISE, FL
36. HOMETOWN NATIONAL BANK of LONGVIEW WA
37. PUTNAM STATE BANK of PALATKA, FL
38. FIDELITY BANK of FLORIDA, N.A. of MERRITT ISLAND, FL
39. IDAHO BANKING COMPANY of BOISE ID
40. INDEPENDENT BANKERS' BANK OF FLORIDA of LAKE MARY, FL

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Two Heartland Banks Fail (originally posted Feb. 10th)

108th-ranked Charter National Bank and Trust of Hoffman Estates, Illinois failed this week and was taken over by Barrington Bank & Trust Company, National Association (2073rd) of Barrington, Illinois. Barrington Bank assumed all of the approximately $89.5 million in total deposits and acquired $93.9 million in total assets and. They also entered into a loss-share transaction with the FDIC on $72.1 million of the former Charter National Bank and Trust's assets. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $17.4 million.

Formerly OTS regulated and un-ranked SCB Bank of Shelbyville, Indiana also closed today. The approximately $182.6 million in total assets and $171.6 million in total deposits were assumed by First Merchants Bank National Association of Muncie, Indiana.  First Merchant's, a stable 3981st on our rankings, has not previously acquired any failed banks. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the DIF  will be $33.9 million.

No New Failures

As of 7:10 est, there have been no new bank failures.  The Bank Blog will be updated throughout the evening should new information come out.

Three More Top 40 Failures This Week

Third-ranked First Guaranty Bank and Trust Company of Jacksonville, Florida, was closed today by regulators and acquired by CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association of Winter Haven, Florida. As of the most recent listing, CenterState Bank ranked a moderate 1717th on the list of most problematic banks. CenterState Bank has acquired six failed institutions since 2009. With this acquisition, they have added approximately $377.9 million in total assets and $349.5 million in total deposits. CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association also  entered into a loss-share transaction on $292.9 million of First Guaranty Bank and Trust Company of Jacksonville's assets. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $82.0 million.

Fourteenth-ranked Tennessee Commerce Bank of Franklin, Tennessee was also closed today.  This was the first of two failures of a Tennessee based bank today and also the first since 2002. Republic Bank & Trust Company of Louisville has agreed to assume the approximately $1.156 billion in deposits of the failed bank. In a first acquisition of its kind for Republic, they agreed to purchase only $203.9 million of the failed bank's approximately $1.185 billion in total assets. As a result, the FDIC estimates that the cost to the DIF to be a hefty $416.8 million. Republic Bank and Trust ranks among the most solid banks on our list at 6111th, in the top 10% in terms of their stable financials.

38th ranked Patriot Bank Minnesota of Forest Lake, Minnesota, was closed today by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. First Resource Bank (6707th) of Savage, Minnesota, has agreed to assume the approximately $111.3 million in total assets and $108.3 million in total deposits of Patriot Bank Minnesota. First Resource Bank and the FDIC entered into a loss-share transaction on $79.4 million of Patriot Bank Minnesota's assets. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the DIF will be $32.6 million


Just out of the Top 40, at 47th, BankEast of Knoxville, Tennessee, was closed today by the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions. U.S. Bank National Association (836th) of Cincinnati, Ohio has agreed to acquire the approximately $272.6 million in total assets and $268.8 million in total deposits of the former bank. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the DIF will be $75.6 million.

A Return to Bank Failures

After an unexpectedly long pause in bank closings, this week bring with it the first three shutdowns of the new year.

Sixth ranked Central Florida State Bank of Belleview, Florida, was the first bank to close in 2012. The bank's assets and deposits were assumed by CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association, of Winter Haven, Florida. This is the fifth such acquisition for CenterState who are currently ranked as the 1717th most risky bank on our list. As of the most recently available accounting, Central Florida State Bank had approximately $79.1 million in total assets and $77.7 million in total deposits. Of these assets, the FDIC and CenterState Bank of Florida , National Association entered into a loss-share transaction on $53.6 million of Central Florida State Bank's assets. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $24.4 million.

13th ranked The First State Bank of Stockbridge, Georgia, also failed this week. The former bank's approximately $536.9 million in total assets and $527.5 million in total deposits were taken over Hamilton State Bank of Hoschton, Georgia. This is the third acquisition for CenterState who are currently ranked as the 2278th most risky bank on our list. The FDIC and Hamilton State Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $419.5 million of The First State Bank's assets. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the DIF will be $216.2 million.

American Eagle Savings Bank of Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, was also closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The small savings bank, with approximately $19.6 million in total assets and $17.7 million in total deposits was taken over by Capital Bank, National Association of Rockville, Maryland. This is the second acquisition for Capital Bank who currently rank as the 2111th most risky bank on our list. The FDIC estimates that the costs to the DIF will be $3.2 million.

No New Failures

As of 6:25 pm est there have been no new failures.  The Bank Blog will be updated should new information come in.

A Stable Period for Banks?

Another week has passed with no failures. While much of this may be attributed to the holiday season, there have been only two regulatory shutdowns since Thanksgiving.  That compares to 10 and 17 during the comparable period in 2010 and 2009 respectively.  Whether this means an end to the high pace of shutdowns remains to be seen.  In the most recent Quarterly Banking Profile, 844 banks remained on the undisclosed list of "problem institutions." This is off only slightly from the 860 banks listed at the same time last year. Are the problems more minor? Are they getting more attention and repairs or are the regulators more willing to wait it out?  We will let our readers decide that for themselves.