First National Bank of Arizona closes down

More Phoenix Local News

09:17 PM Mountain Standard Time on Friday, July 25, 2008

PHOENIX -- According to the First National Bank of Arizona's web site, the bank has closed its doors as a financial institution.

Customers concerned about closure

The notice on their web site says that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a government agency, ordered the closure.

The FDIC was named the receiver, and all deposit accounts have been transferred to Mutual of Omaha Bank, based out of Omaha, Nebraska.

The site also claims that there is no notice given to customers for a financial institution's closing.

First National Bank of Arizona had 15 locations in the state. In the 2007 annual report COB Raymond A. Lamb brought attention to the housing and mortgage industry's downturn as a primary challenge to the bank.

To read the bank's 2007 annual report click here.

To read the full notice on the bank's web site click here.

For information on the agency that closed the bank click here.

The following is information from the FDIC's web site regarding the bank closure:

First National Bank of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, and First Heritage Bank, N.A., Newport Beach, California (owned by First National Bank Holding Company, Scottsdale, Arizona), were closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named receiver. The FDIC entered into purchase and assumption agreements with Mutual of Omaha Bank, Omaha, Nebraska, to take over all of the deposits and certain assets of the First National Bank of Nevada, Reno (also operating as First National Bank of Arizona, which recently merged into it), and First Heritage Bank, N.A., Newport Beach, California.

The 28 offices of the two banks will reopen on Monday as branches of Mutual of Omaha Bank. All depositors, including those with deposits in excess of the FDIC's insurance limits, will automatically become depositors of Mutual of Omaha Bank for the full amount of their deposits. Depositors will continue to be insured with Mutual of Omaha Bank so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance.

Over the weekend, customers of the banks can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the banks will be processed normally. Loan customers should continue to make loan payments as usual.

Of the 10 institutions that have failed over the past two years, this is the second time in which another bank acquired all of the failing banks' insured and uninsured deposits. Mutual of Omaha Bank's acquisition of all deposits was the "least costly" resolution for the Deposit Insurance Fund compared to all alternatives because the expected losses to uninsured depositors were fully covered by the premium paid for the banks' franchises.

As of June 30, 2008, First National of Nevada had total assets of $3.4 billion and total deposits of $3.0 billion. First Heritage Bank had total assets of $254 million and total deposits of $233 million.

Customers who would like more information on today's transactions should visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/fnbnv.html (for First National Bank of Nevada) and http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/fai ... itage.html (for First Heritage Bank, N.A.).

They may also call the FDIC toll free about both institutions at 1-866-674-8944 and 1-800-523-8089 until 9:00 p.m. Pacific time (Friday) evening, and then 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily, thereafter.

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