Financial difficulties unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the demise of Almena State Bank of Almena, Kan., which on Friday became the fourth federally insured bank to fail in 2020, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) data.
The agency, in a release, said Almena State Bank was closed Friday by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. The bank experienced longstanding capital and asset quality issues, “operating with financial difficulties unrelated to the current economic conditions resulting from the pandemic,” the release said.
(The FDIC offered similar analysis in its announcement last Friday of the closure of First City Bank of Florida in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.)
As of June 30, Almena State Bank had approximately $70 million in asset and $68.7 million in deposits, the FDIC said; the agency estimated that the resolution cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $18.3 million.
The FDIC said it entered into a purchase-and-assumption agreement with Equity Bank of Andover, Kan., to assume all of the deposits of Almena State Bank and purchase “essentially all” of the failed bank’s assets. The FDIC said the acquisition was the least costly option for the DIF.
Equity Bank of Andover, Kansas Assumes All of the Deposits of Almena State Bank of Almena, Kansas