Partners Bank in FL and American United Bank in GA Closed by OTS

The Office of Thrift Supervision in a press release announced the seizer of Partners Bank in Florida on October 23, 2009. The Naples bank according to the press release was critically undercapitalized. The release states that is was in an unsafe and unsound condition in order to be conducting business.

The bank was founded four years ago and employed eighteen workers. The closer marks the one hundredth bank seizer of 2009. The hundredth and one bank to be seized was American United Bank located in Georgia. Partners Bank is the seventh bank in Florida to be seized this year according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Partners Bank assets totaling sixty six million dollars as of September 30 were sold by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to Stonegate Bank; which also assumed Partners Bank’s sixty five million in deposits at par. Partners Bank’s assets as of June 30th included twenty million in residential home loans, sixteen million in commercial mortgage loans and twelve million in construction and land development loans.

A loss sharing agreement has not be mentioned in this case however the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is excepting to lose twenty nine million on Partners Bank’s collapse; which hints that the assets were obtained at a forty four percent discount.

The Lawrenceville, Georgia based bank American United Bank was seized by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance seized the bank under the Official Code of Georgia, Section 7-1-150(a). The code allows the department to take possession of any business and property under any state chartered financial institution when that financial institution is insolvent or operating in unsafe or unsound manner. The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance after seizing American United Bank handed the matter over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in American United Bank’s case did agree to a loss sharing arrangement Ameris Bank. The loss sharing arrangement was on ninety two million dollars in assets that American United Bank held. All of American United Bank’s one hundred eleven million dollars in assets as of August 11th have been acquired by Ameris Bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Deposit Insurance Fund is projected to be decreased by forty four million dollars due to American United Bank’s collapse.

A Tampa, Florida bank named Creative Financial Services was also closed. The employees left hundreds of personal information files in publically accessed garbage bins upon closing.