First Midwest Bank in Itasca, Ill., wants to make it perfectly clear — it is not to be confused with Midwest Bank and Trust Co.
Midwest Bank, based in the nearby Chicago suburb of Elmwood Park, expected to be "critically undercapitalized" at March 31, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week by Midwest Banc Holdings Inc., the bank's parent company. The Federal Reserve also issued a "prompt corrective action" ordering the $3.4 billion-asset bank to raise capital or sell itself.
That news was reported last week by Chicago media outlets, prompting First Midwest to issue a press release Friday clarifying "confusion and concerns raised in the market as a result of [the] recent news articles." Neither the $7.7 billion-asset bank nor its parent company, First Midwest Bancorp Inc., is affiliated with the struggling bank.
And it's no surprise there's confusion. The two banks are among at least 26 in the country — and four in Illinois — with the word "Midwest" in their name, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
