This Makes 16

Alpharetta, GA-based Alpha Bank and Trust is no more. The institution was shut down by Georgia’s Dept. of Banking and Finance on October 14, and its two branches reopened yesterday as part of Stearns Bank, headquartered in St. Cloud, MN. Alpha Bank had assets of $354.1 million and deposits of $346.2 million as of September 30; some $3.1 million of uninsured deposits were held in 59 accounts. Stearns did not pay the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. a premium for the insured deposits, and purchased $38.9 million of the failed bank’s assets. The FDIC will dispose of the remainder. Alpha also had an estimated $16.8 million on brokered deposits; the FDIC will pay brokers directly for their insured funds. This sixteenth bank failure of 2008 will drain $158.1 million from the Deposit Insurance Fund.