Federal banking regulators closed 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California.
The banks — owned by Scottsdale, Arizona-based First National Bank Holding Co — closed on Friday and were scheduled to reopen tomorrow as Mutual of Omaha Bank branches, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) said.
The FDIC said that the takeover of the failed banks was the least costly resolution and all depositors — including those with funds in excess of FDIC insurance limits — will be switched to Mutual of Omaha with “the full amount of their deposits.”
The FDIC also said account holders can access their funds during the weekend by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards.
It was the second major bank failure in recent weeks.
On July 11, federal regulators stepped in and seized the assets of a savings and loan, IndyMac Bank, after the mortgage lender succumbed to problems from the tight credit markets and mortgage foreclosures.
It was the second-largest bank failure in US history, the government said. As of March 31, IndyMac had US$19.06 billion in total deposits.
Investment bank Bear Stearns nearly collapsed in March, but was bought out by banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co in a deal orchestrated by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The latest banks to fail had total assets of US$3.6 billion as of June 30. That was down from US$4.1 billion six months earlier.
Calls to 1st National were referred by a receptionist to Joe Martony, an executive vice president in Scottsdale. Martony didn’t return repeated calls to his office.
Bill Uffelman of the Nevada Bankers Association said on Friday the FDIC action “is a reflection of the times for the banks. It’s a poor economy.”
Uffelman cautioned against the sort of consumer concern that prompted many customers of IndyMac Bank branches to wait for hours in line to withdraw funds last week. Bank deposits are guaranteed by the FDIC up to US$100,000, he said.
Governor Jim Gibbons said the bank takeover will be closely monitored in Nevada “to ensure there’s minimal disruption to business and that employees’ jobs are protected as much as possible.”
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano spokeswoman Shilo Mitchell said in a statement that the FDIC’s takeover of 1st National is not indicative of the overall banking climate in Arizona.
“It’s very important that Arizonans know that their deposits are secure,” said Felecia Rotellini, superintendent of Arizona Department of Financial Institutions. “They are well-managed and the 1st National Bank of Arizona issues should not cause any panic in Arizona.”
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS