Michigan Bank Goes Under, Raising 2012 Tally to 16

Another bank fell quiet in Michigan Friday, lifting the national tally to 16 this year but falling short of the pace set by bank failures over the last several years.

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State regulators shuttered Dearborn-based Fidelity Bank, citing ""unsafe and unsound"" conditions in an order that made the ""FDIC"":http://www.fdic.gov/ receiver for $818.2 million in total assets and $747.6 million in total deposits.

The cost to the FDIC's insurance fund: $92.8 million.

""Under this agreement, Fidelity's customers will have uninterrupted access to their accounts and experience a

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seamless transition to Huntington Bank,"" ""Kevin Clinton"":http://www.naic.org/members_bios/michigan.htm, commissioner for Michigan's ""Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation"":http://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,1607,7-154-10555---,00.html, said in a statement.

""The Huntington National Bank"":https://www.huntington.com/ stepped up to assume nearly all of Fidelity's assets, along with 15 branches that it rebranded and reopened Saturday.

""Stephen Steinour"":https://www.huntington.com/us/HNB3130.htm, chairman, president, and CEO of Huntington, welcomed ""more than 18,000 customers of Fidelity Bank"" in a separate statement.

""Our new customers will now have access to a broader range of products and some of the highest rated customer service in the industry,"" he added.

The acquisition of Fidelity marks the second for Huntington, which moved on failing Warren Bank at the height of the financial crisis in 2009.

Although Fidelity's failure again raises the national tally this year, it does so at a clip well below the rate of failure for other community banks over the past several years.

FDIC spokespeople have said in past interviews with _MReport_ that 2010 likely set the ""high-water mark"" for bank failures, attributing the slowing pace to better practices and fiscal management as the recovery gains traction.