It was a bad week for the small bank sector, with most of the damage happening in the South. Including banks, credit unions and mortgage companies — 200 mortgage-related operations have closed or collapsed in 2010.
In Coral Gables, Fla., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seized The Bank of Miami and handed it over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver. The $448 million institution — the biggest to fail Friday — had “experienced substantial dissipation of assets and earnings due to unsafe and unsound practices.”
The national bank regulator added, “the bank incurred losses that depleted its capital, the bank was critically undercapitalized, and there was no reasonable prospect that the bank would become adequately capitalized without federal assistance.”
The OCC issued a cease-and-desist order against the failed institution in July, though it also terminated a Jan. 2009 formal agreement.
Two other banks shuttered by the OCC Friday included United Americas Bank, N.A., in Atlanta and Community National Bank in Lino Lakes, Minn. The OCC issued a cease-and-desist order in October against United Americas — last week’s costliest failure with the Deposit Insurance Fund expected to take a $76 million hit as a result.
The Office of Thrift Supervision, which is being integrated into the OCC, shut down Appalachian Community Bank, noting that the McCaysville, Ga., bank “was critically undercapitalized.” The OTS issued a cease-and-desist order against Appalachian in December 2009.
Georgia’s Department of Banking and Finance stepped in and closed down Chestatee State Bank. The FDIC, which is named receiver on all federally insured bank failures, issued a cease-and-desist order against Chestatee in 2008.
The Arkansas State Bank Commissioner took possession of First Southern Bank, noting that such actions are taken when “the bank is insolvent or in imminent danger of insolvency.”
Including all of Friday’s failures, this year’s bank casualty count reached 157.
The National Credit Union Administration reported the Dec. 14 collapse of Beehive Credit Union in Salt Lake City. The Utah Department of Financial Institutions appointed NCUA as the liquidating agent of the 56-year-old institution. Security Service Federal Credit Union acquired Beehive’s $145 million in assets and will service its 785,000 members.
On Friday, the NCUA disclosed that it assumed control of AEA Federal Credit Union’s operations. The 49,130-member credit union was facing a “declining financial condition” as a result of loan portfolio problems. The company was located in Yuma, Ariz.
Mortgage Daily has tracked the failure of 22 credit unions during 2010. Total mortgage-related failures and closings this year stand at 200.
