Three New Bank Failures Mark First for New Year

Three new banks went under Friday, marking the first for 2012 since state and federal regulators closed 92 financial institutions last year.

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State regulators in Florida and Georgia shuttered Central Florida State Bank and The First State Bank in Belleview and Stockbridge, respectively. The ""Office of the Comptroller of the Currency"":http://www.occ.treas.gov/ (OCC) closed American Eagle Savings Bank in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania.

Regulators appointed the ""FDIC"":http://www.fdic.gov/ receiver in all three cases. The Deposit Insurance Fund racked up $243.8 million in associated costs with the bank closures and acquisitions.

The First State Bank went under with $536.9 million in total assets and $527.5 million in total deposits, followed by Central Florida with $79.1 million and $77.7 million, respectively.

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The FDIC negotiated loss-share transactions with ""CenterState Bank of Florida"":http://centerstatebank.com/ and ""Hamilton State Bank"":http://www.hamiltonstatebank.com/ to turn over assets and deposits. Each sopped up virtually all assets and deposits, with four branches belonging to Central Florida reopening Monday under CenterState and seven transferring from The First State Bank to Hamilton State Bank Saturday.

Hamilton State Bank assumed deposits from The First State Bank at a .50-percent premium.

Tim Pierson, North Florida regional president for CenterState Bank, called Central Florida ""a wonderful addition"" to the institution in a statement.

""The bank's culture is rooted in its community and is a natural fit for our organization,"" he said.

American Eagle Savings went dark with about $19.6 million in total assets and $17.7 million in total deposits, which ""Capital Bank, National Association"":http://www.capitalbankmd.com/ agreed to purchase virtually in their entirety. One branch under the institution reopened Saturday under the acquirer.

The latest bank failures mark the first three for 2012.

Last year saw 92 closures nationally ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô a number that matched forecasts from spokespeople with the FDIC that failures would likely ebb before yearend. The year before saw 157 financial institutions darken as the financial crisis began to wane.

A spokesperson with the FDIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.