A small coastal Georgia bank failed Friday, marking the first such failure of 2011 in the state and the 52nd since mid-2008.
Georgia's Department of Banking and Finance closed Oglethorpe Bank of Brunswick. Oglethorpe Bank and its deposits will be acquired by Bank of the Ozarks, which is based in Little Rock, Ark. As of Sept. 30, Oglethorpe Bank had approximately $230.6 million in total assets and $212.7 million in total deposits.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimated that the closure will cost the regulator's insurance fund $80.4 million. "Compared to other alternatives, Bank of the Ozarks' acquisition was the least costly resolution," the agency said in a statement.
Oglethorpe Bank is the third FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in Georgia was Chestatee State Bank in Dawsonville on Dec. 17, 2010.
The two branches of Oglethorpe Bank will reopen during their normal business hours beginning Saturday as branches of Bank of the Ozarks. Deposits are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000. Regulators said customers of Oglethorpe Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Bank of the Ozarks that it is ready for other branches to process their accounts as well.
The former depositors of Oglethorpe Bank can continue to access their accounts through ATMs, checks and debit transactions.
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