Ameris Acquires Two Failed Banks, Two Others Fail

A frequent acquirer of closed banks, Ameris Bank took over two Georgia-based banks this week. The first was High Trust Bank of Stockbridge, Georgia. High Trust was the second riskiest firm on our list. The other was, just off the list, 44th ranked One Georgia Bank based in Atlanta. These are the 7th and 8th failed banks acquired by Ameris, with the prior two banks having been acquired in November of last year. Perhaps as a result of these ongoing acquisitions, Ameris itself is not without its own financial soundness issues. It ranks among the top 7% in terms of risk at 484th on our list.

With these acquisitions, $2.9 billion Ameris Bank by assets has grown considerably. Both failed banks were of approximately the same size and represented a total of about $380 million in assets and $350 million in deposits as of their most recent federal filings. Ameris entered into a loan-loss sharing transaction with the FDIC on $311.1 million worth of total assets and the overall cost to the FDIC for these shutdowns is estimated at $110 million.

73rd ranked Summit Bank of Prescott, Arizona was also acquired today by nearby Yuma-based The Foothills Bank (4508th). Summit Bank had approximately $72.0 million in total assets and $66.4 million in total deposits. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $11.3 million.

76th ranked, First Peoples Bank of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, was also closed today. The assets were sold to Premier American Bank, National Association (5257th) of Miami, Florida. This was the 5th acquisition for the bank which began as the result of an earlier failure. the roughly $2.5 billion bank by assets added approximately $228.3 million more by acquiring First Peoples Bank. There was no loan-loss sharing agreement and the FDIC estimates the overall cost to be a scant $7.4 million.

Three Top 40 Closings This Week (developing article)

The southeastern U.S. was sparred the regulators axe this week as three of the Top 40 banks closed week all came from relatively fewer, centrally located Colorado and Illinois.

6th ranked, Colorado Capital Bank of Castle Rock, Colorado, was closed today by the Colorado Division of Banking. First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company of Raleigh, North Carolina (895th) agreed to acquire nearly all of the approximately $717.5 million in total assets of the former bank and added roughly $672.8 million to its deposit base. The acquisition includes a loss-share transaction on $580.0 million of Colorado Capital Bank's assets. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $283.8 million.

23rd ranked, Signature Bank of Windsor, Colorado, was also closed today. The approximately $66.7 million bank, in terms of total assets, was acquired by a similarly sized Points West Community Bank of Julesburg, Colorado (4215th). The FDIC estimates that the cost to the DIF will be $22.3 million.

28th ranked, First Chicago Bank & Trust of Chicago, Illinois, was the largest closing of the week. Its seven branches were acquired by Northbrook Bank & Trust Company (514th) of Northbrook, Illinois. First Chicago Bank & Trust had approximately $959.3 million in total assets, of which Northbrook agreed to purchase about $880.7 million. The FDIC and Northbrook Bank & Trust Company also entered into a loss-share transaction on $699.8 million of First Chicago Bank & Trust's former assets. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the DIF will be $284.3 million.

No Closings This Week

There were no new closings for the week ended July 1st.

Regulators Close Another Top 40

34th ranked, Mountain Heritage Bank of Clayton, Georgia, was closed today. Deposits of the bank were acquired by First American Bank and Trust Company (1271th) of Athens, Georgia. Mountain Heritage Bank had approximately $103.7 million in total assets and $89.6 million in total deposits at the time of failure. First American Bank and Trust Company also entered into a loss-share transaction with the FDIC on $69.2 million of Mountain Heritage Bank's assets. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $41.1 million.

This McIntosh is Not So Sweet

14th ranked McIntosh State Bank of Jackson, Georgia, was finally closed today. The approximately $339.9 million bank in total assets was acquired by Hamilton State Bank (6627th). Hamilton State Bank entered into a loss-share transaction with the FDIC on $242.1 million of the former McIntosh State Bank's assets. Hamilton previously purchased the Bartow County Bank in April of this year. The FDIC estimates costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) of about $80.0 million.

34th ranked First Commercial Bank of Tampa Bay, Florida, was also closed today. The nearly $100 million bank by assets was acquired by Stonegate Bank (5519th) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The failed bank acquisition was the first for Stonegate and did not include any form of loss-sharing. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the DIF will be $28.5 million.

No New Closings

There were no closings this week.

Atlantic Bank and Trust Closes This Week

In the 45th bank closing of the year, un-ranked Atlantic Bank and Trust of Charleston, South Carolina, was closed today by the Office of Thrift Supervision. First Citizens Bank and Trust Company, Inc. (1310th) of Columbia, South Carolina has agreed to assume all of the deposits of the former bank. The roughly $200 million acquisition in terms of total assets was First Citizens' third since the beginning of the current crisis.
The FDIC entered into a loss-share transaction on $141.8 million of Atlantic Bank and Trust's assets. They estimate that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $36.4 million.