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StumbleCommunity Bank of Nevada handed to FDIC
FDIC ombudsman Glenn Watler, center, with a Metro Police officer and Community Bank of Nevada employee, right, goes through the necessary steps of accounting for the assets of the bank after the FDIC seized Community Bank of Nevada at their headquarters in downtown Las Vegas Friday, Aug. 14.
Published Friday, Aug. 14, 2009 | 6:17 p.m.
Updated Friday, Aug. 14, 2009 | 6:33 p.m.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials seize a Community Bank of Nevada branch on Friday at 8945 W. Russell Road.
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Sun Topics
Community Bank of Nevada was seized by the state’s Financial Institutions Division today, and was handed over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as its receiver.
“We want Nevadans to know that their insured deposits are safe,” division Commissioner George Burns said in a statement announcing the seizure. “Deposits are insured by the FDIC for the maximum under current law.”
The FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000.
"Due to inadequate capital and mounting loan losses, it was necessary to close Community Bank of Nevada and appoint the FDIC as receiver," Burns said. "We are committed to making sure Nevada's banking system continues to be fundamentally safe and sound."
Bank customers will continue to have access to banking services over the weekend and the bank will open Monday as the FDIC's Deposit Insurance National Bank of Las Vegas, which will remain open for about 30 days to allow depositors to open accounts at other banks.
Nevada State Bank has been contracted to manage the banks during this time. Brokered deposits, CDs and IRAs are not part of the federal bank. The FDIC will mail non-brokered deposit customers checks, and pay brokers directly for their insured deposits.
Those with safe deposit boxes can come to the bank and remove their contents.
The FDIC is retaining the assets of Community Bank until they can be sold. Loan customers are expected to continue to make their payments as usual.
"We will continue to work closely with the FDIC and to manage this situation as smoothly as possible," Burns said.
Community Bancorp’s CEO was Edward Jamison; Community Bank of Nevada CEO was Larry Scott.
The bank struggled for the past year as the commercial real estate market fell in Las Vegas. The bank was heavy in commercial real estate and construction loans.
Many of its loans were at least 90 days overdue, accounting for $261 million in potential losses. It also had $112.9 million in foreclosed property, as of March 31.
Community Bancorp, the parent of its Nevada subsidiary and Community Bank of Arizona, was established in 1995.
The bank had 233 employees, as of March 31, according to the FDIC. Since then Community Bank of Nevada grew to be the eighth largest bank in Las Vegas, according to In Business Las Vegas’ 2009 Book of Business Lists.
The bank had 11 branches in the Las Vegas area and one in Pahrump, and the Arizona operation had four branches, according to the bank’s Web site.
As of March 31, the most recent figures available, Community Bank had $1.57 billion in assets, $1.45 billion in deposits, $1.2 billion in loans and $21.96 million in loan loss allowance.
The bank, however, recently announced that it had increased its loan loss allowance for its first quarter and 2008 annual financial report by $60 million.
At the time, the bank’s chief financial officer, Patrick Hartman, said in a release that the bank was preparing to file its first quarter and annual report, both well past normal deadlines.
The bank was also determined to be “no longer adequately capitalized” as defined by federal regulations, that release said.
Community Bank of Arizona, a sister to the Nevada bank, was seized by Arizona regulators. The Arizona bank will open on Monday as branches of MidFirst Bank of Oklahoma City.
Community Bank was the third bank to close Friday. Earlier in the day, Alabama bank regulators shut down Colonial Bank, transferring its deposit accounts to Branch Banking and Trust Company (known more widely as BB&T).
Colonial had 15 branches in the Las Vegas area.
Federal regulators closed down Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association of Pittsburgh, Penn., and its deposit accounts were transferred to PNC Bank in Pittsburgh.
Earlier in the week, federal regulators seized Las Vegas-based Community One Federal Credit Union with Utah-based America First Credit Union taking over operations.
For more information, go to the FDIC's Web site.
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the vegas death spiral continues.
All the employees at insurance companies seem to be the next targets. The Obamanation continues. Thanks harry Reid, you and your pal nancy have handed us another one.
rejco1000 & neiman1: You should really be more informed before you post these types of comments. First, please tell me how much money you think the bank received from TARP? Maybe you should understand business and that not everything happening in the world today is a result of your pathetic irrational fear of President Obama. Also, you might be interested to know that the major players at CBON contributed to the GOP.
spring11, you are the one who'd better get informed. Banks nationwide are effectively insolvent, 74 closed so far this year with many more to go. Perhaps you weren't around during the S&L festivals where 1500 savings and loans were declared dead.
You're trying to place blame on a political party clearly shows your ignorance of how deeply rooted bank corruption is and has been.
Sanddunes - spring11 didn't comment on the solvency of nationwide banks. of course there will be more to fail. spring11 was referring to the ignorant prior posts that incorrectly posited that this was a TARP or Obama failure. To the contrary, it was lax lending standards and an irrational belief that home prices would never fall on a national basis - and there is plenty of blame to be borne by both major parties as well as the average homeowner.
hey, maybe we should revise the bomb shelters of the 50's so we have someplace to live when everything has fallen out and fallen down. Ok, so we are on a hard patch when the best is to get down to it and work things out and figure that change is blowing in the wind!
Just more nationalization of the private banking system. Nothing to see here folks...move along...
They are part of a State or Federal regulatory system by choice, the FDIC. Go back to analyzing Obama's birth certificate and your "sovereign citizen" home study course. Remember, don't file your taxes this year because the 16th amendment was not properly ratified.
neiman Community Bank was in trouble long before Obama, thanks to the deregulation passed by Phil Gramm, John McCain and their pals.You and your stupid baseless rants about any Democrat are getting old. You are delusional. Infact George Bush was in charge when the banking industry went down. Go get some help and leave everyone alone.
I like living in Las Vegas, but it's just a matter of time before it becomes one big ghost town. There are to many factors the biggest is water.
Hey Neiman,
Lets not forget Nevada's Silver State Bank, already seized by the FDIC.
Memories of McCain scandals past -- the ghosts of John McCain'ssavings and loan scandals come back to haunt.
"Andrew K. McCain, a son of Republican presidential nominee John
McCain, sat on the boards of Silver State Bank and of its parent,
Silver State Bancorp, starting in February but resigned in July citing
"personal reasons," corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission show. Andrew McCain also was a member of the bank's audit
committee, responsible for oversight of the company's accounting.
http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandida...
Topset72 has it right....
These banks were well on their way to failing before Obama inherited this mess.When the bottom fell out...some banks went with it.Remember is is not your everyday,once in a while recession.The strong banks are still doing business.Be grateful we have the FDIC in place.