DEL.ICIO.USUpdated: 6:18 p.m. February 06, 2009
McDonough’s FirstBank Financial Services fails
Four branches set to open Monday as Regions Bank
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, February 06, 2009
The bank failures keep piling up in Georgia.
Federal and state regulators on Friday seized FirstBank Financial Services of McDonough. It is the sixth Georgia bank to fail in the past six months.
Customers who have questions can call the FDIC toll free at 1-800-823-3215. The phone number will be operational Friday until 9 p.m. EST; on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Customers can also visit the FDIC's Web site.
Source: FDIC
Regions Bank of Birmingham will take over FirstBank’s $279 million in deposits and $17 million of the bank’s $337 million in assets, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Regions did not pay a premium for the deposits.
It’s the second failed Georgia bank snapped up by Regions since the financial crisis hit last summer. The bank took over Alpharetta-based Integrity Bank last August.
FirstBank Financial, which opened in 2002, is one of Georgia’s smaller banks. It appears to have fallen into the same trap that has snagged Georgia’s other failed institutions: Its loan portfolio was heavily concentrated in the real estate sector, which has imploded.
At the end of the third quarter, the most recent data available, FirstBank reported $53 million in loans 90 or more days late and charged off another $8 million in loans as not collectible.
The FDIC said the failure will cost its insurance fund about $111 million. The FDIC will retain for later disposition the FirstBank assets not purchased by Regions.
FirstBank’s four branches in McDonough, Stockbridge and Morrow are scheduled to open Monday as Regions Bank locations. Customers will be able to access their funds and use their ATM cards over the weekend. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual, the FDIC said.
FirstBank recently topped a list of Georgia banks with a high Texas ratio, which is aimed at gauging a financial institution’s risk of running into financial difficulty. The number compares the level of problem loans to the amount of capital and reserves available.
The acquisition will greatly boost Regions’ presence in Henry County, which has been one of the nation’s fastest-growing counties in recent years. Regions had one branch in Henry before Friday’s acquisition.
Regions is looking for opportunities “to grow beyond our current footprint,” said Bill Linginfelter, the top executive in Atlanta and North Georgia for Regions.
Services »
