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Taylor Bean-Linked Platinum Bank Fails

Five banks seized over the weekend

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 5, 2009

Platinum Community Bank was acquired by Taylor Bean kingpin Lee Farkas in 2008. Taylor Bean filed for bankruptcy protection last month, a few weeks after it closed its lending operations under pressure from federal regulators.

No purchaser for Platinum's assets could be found. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will mail customers checks for their insured funds on Tuesday, September 8.

MB Financial Bank, NA, will accept the failed bank's direct deposits from the federal government, such as Social Security and Veterans' payments. Customers must use MB Financial's branch located at 2251 Plum Grove, Palatine, Illinois, to access their federal government direct deposits.

Platinum's failure is the 15th in Illinois this year, making that state second only to Georgia's 18.

Customers who have questions can call the FDIC toll free at 1-800-640-2751. The phone number will be operational on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., CDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., CDT; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., CDT. Interested parties can also visit the FDIC's Web site.

Other failures

Other bank failures this weekend include:

• InBank, Oak Forest, Ill.
• First Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo.
• Vantus Bank, Sioux City, Iowa
• First State Bank, Flagstaff, Ariz.

InBank

InBank's three branches were scheduled to reopen today (Saturday) as branches of MB Financial Bank, N.A., Oak Forest, which has purchased the majority of InBAnk's deposits.

Depositors of InBank will automatically become depositors of MB Financial Bank, N.A. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers should continue to use their existing branches until MB Financial Bank, N.A., can fully integrate the deposit records of InBank.

As of August 3, 2009, InBank had total assets of $212 million and total deposits of approximately $199 million. In addition to assuming the deposits of the failed bank, MB Financial Bank, N.A., agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

First Bank of Kansas City

Great American Bank of De Soto, Kansas, has agreed to assume the deposits of First Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo. The sole branch of First Bank of Kansas City reopened today (Saturday) as a branch of Great American Bank. Depositors of First Bank of Kansas City will automatically become depositors of Great American Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers should continue to use their existing branches until Great American Bank can fully integrate the deposit records of First Bank of Kansas City.

As of June 30, 2009, First Bank of Kansas City had total assets of $16 million and total deposits of approximately $15 million. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Great American Bank agreed to purchase all of the assets.

Customers who have questions can call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-430-6165. The phone number will be operational on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., CDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., CDT; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., CDT. Interested parties can also visit the FDIC's Web site.

Vantus Bank

Great Southern Bank of Springfield, Mo., has agreed to assume all of the deposits of Vantus Bank. The 15 branches of Vantus Bank reopened today (Saturday) with normal business hours as branches of Great Southern Bank. Depositors of Vantus Bank will automatically become depositors of Great Southern Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage.

Customers should continue to use their existing branches until Great Southern Bank can fully integrate the deposit records of Vantus Bank.

As of August 28, 2009, Vantus Bank had total assets of $458 million and total deposits of approximately $368 million. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Great Southern Bank agreed to purchase approximately $387 million of the assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.

The FDIC and Great Southern Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on approximately $338 million of Vantus Bank's assets. Great Southern Bank will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-share arrangement is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The agreement also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers.

Customers who have questions about the transaction can call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-405-1439. The phone number will be operational on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., CDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., CDT; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., CDT. Interested parties can also visit the FDIC's Web site.

First State Bank

Sunwest Bank of Tustin, Calif., is assuming the deposits of First State Bank. Due to the Labor Day holiday, the six branches of First State Bank will reopen on Tuesday as branches of Sunwest Bank. Depositors of First State Bank will automatically become depositors of Sunwest Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers should continue to use their existing branches until Sunwest Bank can fully integrate the deposit records of First State Bank.

Over the weekend, depositors of First State Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of July 24, 2009, First State Bank had total assets of $105 million and total deposits of approximately $95 million. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Sunwest Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

Customers who have questions about the transaction can call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-537-4048. The phone number will be operational on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., MST; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., MST; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., MST. Interested parties can also visit the FDIC's Web site.

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