The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that it will liquidate Silverton Bank rather than sell the failed Atlanta institution to a bidder.
Silverton, which was the largest institution specializing in correspondent banking, was seized May 1.
It was formerly a bankers' bank but, after converting to a national charter, suffered losses on direct loans and bets on the real estate construction market. The FDIC has chartered a new bridge bank to manage Silverton's operations.
Though the agency could not find a buyer before its closure, the FDIC said then that it would continue the marketing it had begun before the bank was closed. Numerous private-equity firms, including Carlyle Group, were said to be seriously interested.
But this effort appeared to fall through. In a statement e-mailed to American Banker, an FDIC spokesman said parts of the bank will now be sold off individually.
"Prior to the FDIC's appointment as receiver, Silverton had initiated a marketing effort which was allowed to continue until a whole-bank acquisition was no longer feasible," the spokesman said.
"The FDIC will begin an orderly wind-down of Silverton Bridge Bank NA and begin to offer the institution in its component parts. We will ensure that sufficient time is given to smoothly transition correspondent banking services to other providers."
