Truman Bank of St. Louis Receives Stern Warning from Fed

A St. Louis community bank's days could be numbered unless it raises additional capital by mid-July.

The $315 million-asset Truman Bank has been undercapitalized since late last year and the Federal Reserve Board has issued a Prompt Corrective Action order saying said it has 90 days to either bolster its capital levels or find a buyer.

A Prompt Corrective Action order is the most severe enforcement action regulators can dole out other than seizing a bank outright. The order took effect April 16 and was made public Tuesday.

Truman has shrunk its assets by more than half since 2007 in order to maintain adequate capital ratios but it has been unable to overcome massive losses on real estate loans. The bank has lost roughly $55 million over the last four years and at Dec. 31 more than 20% of its loans were at least 90 days past due, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.

The Fed issued two other enforcement orders Tuesday requiring bank holding companies to serve as sources of strength for their bank units that are currently operating under enforcement agreements with their primary regulators.

Community West Bancshares (CWBC) is the parent company of Community West Bank in Goleta, Calif., which is under orders from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to mitigate risk in its loan portfolio and develop a three-year plan to boost its capital ratios.

Pacific International Bancorp is the holding company for Pacific International Bank in Seattle, which has been operating under an enforcement order with the FDIC and its state regulator since December.

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Community banking Law and regulation
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