Regulators Close Seven More Banks

Regulators shut down seven more banks, including six Georgia institutions that were under common ownership.

The latest closings bring the total this year to 64, compared with 25 for all of 2008.

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance seized six subsidiaries of Security Bank Corp. of Macon, Ga. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed as receiver, and arranged for State Bank and Trust Co., of Pinehurst, Ga., to take over all of the failed banks' deposits.

The six banks had a total of $2.79 billion in assets.

Regulators also closed Waterford Village Bank in Clarence, N.Y.., and arranged for Evans Bank N.A. to take over its deposits and operations.

The Georgia banks closed Friday were:

--Security Bank of Bibb County, which had $1.2 billion in assets and $1 billion in deposits. 

--Security Bank of Jones County, which had $453 million in assets and $387 million in deposits.

--Security Bank of Houston County, which had $383 million in assets and $320 million in deposits.

--Security Bank of Gwinnett County, which had $322 million in assets and $292 million in deposits.

--Security Bank of North Metro, which had $224 million in assets and $212 million in deposits.

--Security Bank of North Fulton, which had $209 million in assets and $191 million in deposits.

In addition to assuming all the deposits of those banks, State Bank and Trust took over their 20 branches and acquired $2.4 billion of their assets. The FDIC entered into a loss-sharing arrangement with State Bank and Trust on roughly $1.7 billion of those assets.

As part of the deal, State Bank and Trust also received a $300 million capital infusion from a group of 26 investors, the FDIC said. Joe Evans, a longtime banking executive, led the group and became State Bank's chairman and chief executive.

The FDIC estimated that the Security Bank closings would cost its insurance fund around $807 million. It estimated that the failure of Waterford Village Bank would cost the fund $5.6 million.

The New York State Banking Department shut down Waterford Village Bank, a one-branch bank with $61.4 million in assets and $58 million in deposits. Evans Bank, based in Angola, N.Y., agreed to assume all of the deposits and nearly all of the assets.

It entered into a loss-sharing deal with the FDIC on $56 million of the assets.