Tag Archives: FDIC

The lights went dark for two banks in Georgia and Minnesota Friday, with one unable to secure an acquirer for deposits. The cash registers at Little Falls-based Home Savings of America fell silent without any bank scheduled to take up $434.1 million in total assets and $432.2 million in total deposits. The FDIC said in a statement that it approved payouts for customers worth the sum of their deposits. The agency insures deposits for up to $250,000 each. State regulators in Georgia also shuttered Ellaville-based Central Bank of Georgia.

State and federal regulators closed banks in Indiana and Illinois Friday, raising the national tally for failures to nine for 2012. Shelbyville, Indiana-based SCB Bank fell dark with about $182.6 million in total assets and $171.6 million in total deposits. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed the institution and appointed the FDIC to carry out responsibilities as receiver. The OCC also closed Charter National Bank and Trust in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The bank went under with $93.9 million in total assets and $89.5 million in total deposits.

Federal and state regulators shuttered four banks Friday, including one in Florida, another in Minnesota, and two in Tennessee. State regulators appointed the FDIC receiver in all cases, resulting in more than $600 million in accumulated costs for the Deposit Insurance Fund. The four newest bank failures raise the national tally to seven so far in 2012. Bank failures ended last year by hitting 92, down from 157 seen in 2010. An FDIC spokesperson says that 2010 signaled a high-water mark for closures.

President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address Wednesday to tout his accomplishments and propose several new housing ventures, including possible expansions to refinance programs, consumer financial protection, and new federal initiatives to combat abusive lending practices. The speech weighed in on risky lending practices in particular and went after Republicans for their opposition to his policies, including consumer financial protection. Experts remain on the sidelines about an expanded refinance program.

An awkward and slightly tense air greeted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray at his first congressional hearing Tuesday, where the new appointee cast his agency as one that would strive to reduce duplication and increase transparency. Although careful in their approach to the new director, Republican committee members frequently cited their concerns about federal overreach, the constitutionality of his recess appointment, and interests for transparency. The CFPB can now supervise nonbank financial entities.

Three new banks went under Friday, marking the first for 2012 since state and federal regulators closed 92 financial institutions last year. 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 closed American Eagle Savings Bank in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania. The latest bank failures mark the first three for 2012. Last year saw 92 closures nationally, while 2010 bore witness to 157 bank failures.

Witnesses testifying before the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday warned lawmakers that the controversial Volcker Rule could tighten bank liquidity and make U.S. financial institutions less competitive with banks overseas. Once finalized by regulators, the rule ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô unless modified or repealed by lawmakers ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô will enact a provision under the Dodd-Frank Act that prohibits U.S. banks from engaging in short-term proprietary trading practices. Douglas Elliott, a fellow with the Brookings Institution, called for an outright repeal of the Volcker Rule.

Earlier Tuesday the FDIC went forward with a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register that calls for annual stress tests to determine capital adequacy for banks. The notice built on the Basel Accords, which the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision revisited with help from a consortium of central bankers over 2010 and 2011. Basel III is the latest by BCBS to require stress tests for systemically important financial institutions, which include Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and several other U.S. lenders.

The FDIC finalized one rule and proposed another Tuesday that requires systemically large financial institutions to submit resolution plans and undergo annual stress tests, respectively. Under the finalized rule, financial institutions with more than $50 billion in assets will need to craft so-called living wills, or resolution plans, for the FDIC and regulators to follow in the event of collapse. The agency also proposed another rule Tuesday for public commentary on capital adequacy tests, or stress tests, for financial institutions with $10 billion or more in assets, including 23 state non-member banks.

The New Year began without any bank failures, but one new law will task the FDIC inspector general with checking the books to see if the agency helped exacerbate failures in 2011. The House voted Tuesday to pass a bill amended by the Senate and reconciled by both chambers in December that will compel investigations by the FDIC and Government Accountability Office. Once it becomes law, the bill will call for studies into whether the FDIC├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós loss-share agreements helped accelerate bank failures last year.