Struggling Kansas bank closes
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'Volatile market' forces Feds to step in
8/22/2008 -
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Friday shut down Kansas' Columbian Bank and Trust Co., which was struggling with losses on soured real estate loans.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of Columbian Bank of Topeka, Kan., which had $752 million in assets and $622 million in deposits as of June 30.
The FDIC did not give a reason for the closure, but Columbian reported $92 million in delinquent loans in the second quarter, citing a "volatile real estate market." The bank set aside $9.2 million for loan losses in the first quarter, up nearly 30 percent from the $7.1 million it set aside in the first quarter of 2007.
A financial statement for the bank shows $482.3 million in real estate loans in the first quarter, including $439.4 million in construction and development and commercial real estate loans. Columbian has said five borrowers represented nearly half the $92 million in problem loans.
Construction and development loans are areas that have been under greater scrutiny from federal examiners, the FDIC has said, and a growing number of banks have cited weakness in those areas of their loan portfolios.
The agency said Columbian's deposits will be assumed by Citizens Bank and Trust of Chillicothe, Mo. Its nine offices will reopen Monday as branches of Citizens Bank. Depositors of Columbian Bank will continue to have full access to their deposits, the agency said.
It was the ninth failure this year of an FDIC-insured bank. That compares with three failures in all of 2007. More banks are in danger of failing this year, agency officials have said.
