As publicly traded banks report earnings for the last quarter of 2012, banks in general have returned to a low level of profitability, but it is a different story for very large banks. Their higher cost structure have them roughly breaking even in the latest quarter.
The first bank failures of 2012 were announced tonight. The First State Bank, of Stockbridge, Georgia, was the largest tonight, with just over $500 million in deposits. The deposits and assets are being transferred to Hamilton State Bank. With the failure, every bank in Henry County, on the fringes of the Atlanta metro area, has failed. The First State Bank was the largest bank in the county and lasted longer than the others, but it had more than half of its assets in real estate development at the peak of the bubble and took more losses than it could absorb.
These small banks, with a total of less than $100 million in deposits, failed tonight:
- American Eagle Savings Bank, Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.
- Central Florida State Bank, 4 locations, Belleview, Florida.
