WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve has announced enforcement actions against two banking companies in Washington state and one in Kansas.
The $362-million County Bancorp Inc. in Arlington, Wash., and the $197-million Washington Bancorp Inc. in Lynwood cannot pay any dividends without prior approval from the Fed, under the agreements disclosed Monday. The companies also cannot incur, increase or guarantee any debt without approval, according to American Banker, an affiliate of Credit Union Journal.
County Bancorp is the parent of North County Bank, and Washington Bancorp is the parent of Bank of Washington. More than 15% of the loans at those banks were noncurrent at Sept. 30, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
North County had capital levels above the typical minimums required for a bank to be considered well capitalized, the FDIC data showed. But Bank of Washington had a total risk-based capital ratio of 9.46%, which is below the 10% regulatory standard, American Banker reported.
The Fed announced a similar agreement Friday with the $1.9 billion-asset Hillcrest Bancshares Inc. in Overland Park, Kan.
