SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Federal banking regulators on Saturday said they shuttered two banks owned by First National Bank Holding Company and sold them to Mutual of Omaha, the Nebraska insurance giant that operates a banking subsidiary.
The two banks, 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operate 28 branches in the hard-hit Nevada, Arizona and California markets, and will be added to the insurer’s four Omaha branch operations.
The two banks hold $3.6 billion in assets, down from $4.1 billion six months ago.
In a throwback to the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, the housing rescue bill approved by the Senate on Saturday includes a provision that will allow the FDIC to create so-called bridge institutions for failed S&Ls that mirrors powers the FDIC has had for failing banks since 1991. The new power will give the FDIC more latitude to resolve failures, such as IndyMac in California.
As part of a purchase and assumption agreement with the FDIC, Mutual of Omaha Bank will purchase approximately $200 million of assets and will pay the FDIC a premium of 4.41% to purchase all the deposits. The FDIC will assume the remaining assets for later sale.
First National Bank of Nevada is the first bank to be closed in Nevada since Frontier Savings Association in Las Vegas, in 1990.
