Regulators close small Maryland bank

WASHINGTON (AP) — Regulators have closed a small lender in Maryland, bringing U.S. bank failures this year to 15 after 24 closures in all of 2013.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that it has taken over NBRS Financial Bank of Rising Sun, Maryland.

The bank, which operated five branches, had about $188.2 million in assets and $183.1 million in deposits as of June 30.

Howard Bank of Ellicott City, Maryland, has agreed to pay the FDIC a premium of 1.19 percent to assume all of the failed bank’s deposits. It also agreed to buy essentially all of its assets.

The five NBRS Financial branches will reopen as branches of Howard Bank during their normal business hours. Depositors of NBRS Financial will automatically become depositors of Howard Bank, the FDIC said.

The failure of NBRS Financial, the second Maryland bank to be shuttered this year, is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund about $24.3 million.

U.S. bank failures have been declining since they peaked in 2010 in the wake of the financial crisis and the Great Recession.

Only three banks went under in 2007. That jumped to 25 in 2008, after the financial meltdown, and ballooned to 140 in 2009.

In 2010, regulators seized 157 banks, the most in any year since the savings and loan crisis two decades ago. The FDIC has said 2010 likely was the high-water mark for bank failures from the recession. They declined to 92 in 2011 and fell to 51 in 2012.

In a strong economy, about four or five banks close annually.

From 2008 through 2011, bank failures cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $88 billion, and the fund fell into the red in 2009. With failures slowing, the fund’s balance turned positive in the second quarter of 2011.The fund had a $51.1 billion balance as of June 30.

The FDIC has said it expects bank failures from 2012 through 2016 will cost the fund $10 billion.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up