Haven Trust Bank of Duluth seized after failure

Federal and state banking regulators seized a fifth Georgia-based financial institution Friday.

The failed Haven Trust Bank, based in Duluth, had total assets of $572 million and total deposits of $515 million.

Branch Banking & Trust of Winston-Salem, N.C., will buy all of Haven Trust’s $515 million in deposits for a $112,000 premium, and Haven Trust’s four branches will open Monday as BB&T branches.

In addition to assuming of Haven Trust’s deposits, BB&T will acquire about $55 million of its assets. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is retaining the remaining assets for later disposition.

The FDIC said this failure will cost its insurance fund about $200 million.

Haven Trust’s failure is the 24th such bank collapse nationwide, reflecting the continued recession triggered by the severe downturn in housing.

“The prolonged housing downturn continues to affect our economy in general, and some of our banks that have focused heavily on the real-estate development and building industries are unquestionably hurting,” said Joe Brannen, president and chief executive of the Georgia Bankers Association in a statement.

“Five Georgia banks have been closed since August, mostly due to the real estate market difficulty. Based on the most current FDIC data, statewide, non-performing bank loans are more than double the national average, non-current loans have risen to over $7 billion and foreclosed real estate properties on the bank’s books are up significantly.”

The FDIC said Haven Trust’s customers may continue to write checks and use their debit cards and those with loans should continue making their regular payments.

The agency also warned if customers receive any e-mails asking for personal information such as bank account or Social Security numbers from anyone purporting to be from BB&T or the FDIC, those requests are fraudulent. As a rule, financial institutions will never ask you to verify your identity and to give out your personal information via e-mail requests.