The Georgia Department of Finance closed Community Bank and Trust of West Georgia, LaGrange, on May 1..The Department of Finance then appointed the FDIC as receiver, which entered into an agreement with Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based Anchor Bank to assume the deposits and acquire certain assets of the bank. The three branches of Community Bank and Trust-West Georgia reopened as Anchor Bank branches on May 4. As of Dec. 31, Community Bank and Trust-West Georgia had $288 million in assets and $268 million in deposits. Of total deposits, $27 million exceeded FDIC insurance limits. The FDIC estimated the failure will cost its Deposit Insurance Fund $97 million. The failure came less than a month after the Federal Reserve issued a case-and-desist order relating to the bank holding company’s government-guaranteed lending program. The Fed identified deficiencies relating to board oversight, capital and compliance with rules connected to affiliate transactions and ordered the Board of Directors to submit a written plan to strengthen board oversight. Community Bank and Trust is the second bank to fail this year, following Chicago-based Metropolitan Bank & Trust on Jan. 30.
