Small North Lauderdale bank closed, sold

By Doreen Hemlock, SunSentinel

11:01 a.m. EDT, May 5, 2012

A small North Lauderdale bank was closed Friday and sold to a stronger bank in Coral Gables.

Authorities shut the three-branch Security Bank NA and sold nearly all of its assets to financially sound Banesco USA in a deal the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. considered its least costly option.

The transition should be seamless for customers. Depositors are federally insured up to $250,000 per bank. The three branches will reopen as Banesco on Monday.

Security Bank NA had $99.1 million in deposits as of March 31.

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Banesco USA had $425 million in deposits as of Dec. 31. Ratings agency Bauer Financial gave Banesco USA its highest rating of five stars in its latest report.

The FDIC said it will share in Security Bank's losses, estimated to cost its deposit insurance fund about $10.8 million.

Security Bank NA is the third FDIC-insured bank shut in Florida this year. The last one closed was the small First Guaranty Bank and Trust Co. of Jacksonville in January.

The pace of bank closures in Florida has slowed dramatically in 2012, as banks recover from the state's severe real estate slump and recession. The worst pain for Florida's economy came in 2009, but foreclosures, loan delinquencies and other woes caught up with banks later, making 2010 their worst year.

Last year, authorities closed 13 banks in Florida, down from 29 shuttered in 2010. Georgia became the state with the most bank closures in 2011, taking the title from Florida, FDIC records show.

This year, as Florida's economy improves, the number of Florida banks shut should slip below 10, independent bank analyst Ken Thomas of Miami has predicted.