The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation had another busy week, stepping in to close five more banks that failed, bringing the toll for the year to 108.
Two banks in Florida, and one each in Washington, Oregon and Georgia closed their doors and were taken over by other financial institutions.
Bayside Savings Bank, Port Saint Joe, Florida and Coastal Community Bank, Panama City Beach, Florida, were closed by federal and state banking agencies, which then appointed FDIC as receiver for both institutions. To protect depositors, the FDIC entered into purchase and assumption agreements with Centennial Bank, Conway, Arkansas, to assume all the deposits and essentially all the assets of the two failed institutions.
Bayside Savings Bank was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision, and Coastal Community Bank was closed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation.
Collectively, the two failed institutions operated 13 branches. As of March 31, 2010, Bayside Savings Bank had total assets of $66.1 million and total deposits of $52.4 million. Coastal Community Bank had total assets of $372.9 million and total deposits of $363.2 million.
NorthWest Bank and Trust, Acworth, Georgia, was closed was closed by banking regulators, with its assets and deposits assumed by State Bank and Trust Company, Macon, Georgia. As of March 31, 2010, NorthWest Bank and Trust had approximately $167.7 million in total assets and $159.4 million in total deposits.
LibertyBank, Eugene, Oregon, has been taken over by Home Federal Bank, Nampa, Iowa, after it was closed by federal and state regulators Friday. As of March 31, 2010, LibertyBank had approximately $768.2 million in total assets and $718.5 million in total deposits.
The Cowlitz Bank, Longview, Washington, was closed by the Washington Department of Financial Institutions, which appointed FDIC as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Heritage Bank, Olympia, Washington, to assume all of the deposits of The Cowlitz Bank.
As of March 31, 2010, The Cowlitz Bank had approximately $529.3 million in total assets and $513.9 million in total deposits.
FDIC covered customer deposits, up to $250,000, in all five banks. The cost to the insurance fund was more than $335 million, FDIC said.
Scam alert
Customers of the failed banks should be on the alert for scam artists who use the situation to their advantage. Bank depositors will not receive any email notifications or telephone calls from the banks or any government agency asking them to verify, confirm or "unlock" any of their personal information.
Banking customers should never give any personal information, especially account numbers, passwords and Social Security numbers, to anyone they do not know. Nor should consumers follow an email link to a Web site supposedly set up to verify accounts. If in doubt, consumers should personally visit their bank branch or call the FDIC numbers provided in this report.
Consumers can also find information about specific bank closings on the FDIC Web site.
