Alpharetta’s Alpha Bank and Trust shut down

The financial crisis claimed another local bank Friday as regulators closed Alpha Bank and Trust of Alpharetta.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and state officials closed Alpha and issued a statement assuring depositors that federal insurance remains in place.

However, they are now customers of Stearns Bank of Minnesota, which has taken over Alpha’s insured deposits, according to the FDIC.

It was the third bank failure in Georgia to follow the real estate slump, mortgage meltdown and credit crunch. Integrity Bank was shuttered in August. NetBank shut down in September 2007.

All three were based in Alpharetta.

Alpha’s two branches will open Monday as Stearns Bank. Customers may still draw on their accounts over the weekend by writing checks, or using teller machines or debit cards, the FDIC said.

Alpha was high on a recent list of banks with a disproportionate number of problem loans. Using the “Texas ratio,” which compares problem loans to capital and reserves available to absorb losses, FIG Partners calculated Alpha had the fourth worst ratio among area banks.

As of June 30, more than three-quarters of Alpha Bank’s $305.7 million loan portfolio was concentrated in construction and development loans.

More information about the Alpha shutdown is available on the FDIC Web site, www.fdic.gov. Customers with more than $250,000 at Alpha — the cap on insured amounts for most individual accounts — should contact the agency at 800-591-2912, officials said.