First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Charleston, a subsidiary of First Financial Holdings, has entered into an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance (FDIC) to assume all of the deposits and certain assets of Cape Fear Bank, a community bank headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.
All Cape Fear Bank offices have opened as branches of First Federal. Cape Fear Bank depositors will automatically become depositors of First Federal and deposits will continue to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance. With this acquisition, First Federal will now operate 66 retail banking centres in North and South Carolina.
In this transaction, First Federal will be receiving approximately $300m of deposits, $380m in loans and $4m of other real estate owned (ORE) from Cape Fear Bank. The loans and ORE purchased are covered by a loss share agreement between the FDIC and First Federal. Under such agreement, the FDIC has agreed to cover 80% of the losses on the disposition of the loans and ORE up to $110m, and 95% of losses that exceed that amount. In addition, First Federal will also be purchasing cash and other marketable securities of Cape Fear Bank.
Thomas Hood, president and CEO of First Federal, said: We are delighted to welcome Cape Fear Bank customers to the First Federal family of financial services companies. Customers can be confident that their deposits are safe and readily accessible. It’s business as usual. First Federal has served customers’ financial needs since 1934 with a deep commitment to building relationships.
