Weiss Ratings News Briefs


Georgia banks continue to fall

10/24/2011

Another two Georgia banks were closed by state regulators on Friday bringing the total to 22, the most of any state in the U.S.

Community Capital Bank in Jonesboro, south of Atlanta, with assets of $181.2 million at June 30, 2011 was rated E- (“Very Weak”) by Weiss at the time of failure. It was first identified as “Weak” in March 2008. The institution reported a loss of more than $1.2 million for the six months ending June 30. It had below-FDIC-mandated Tier 1 (5%) and risk-based capital (6%) ratios of 1.73% and 3.63%, respectively. Nonperforming loans represented 14.7% of its loan portfolio. State Bank and Trust in Macon, with assets of $2.1 billion and a Weiss Financial Strength Rating of C+ (“Fair”), assumed the deposits of Community Capital Bank.

Decatur First Bank in Decatur, with assets of $191.5 million at June 30, was rated E- (“Very Weak”) at the time of failure and was first identified as “Weak” in December 2008. It reported a loss of more than $4.4 million for the six months ending June 30. Decatur First had below-FDIC-mandated Tier 1 (5%) and risk-based capital (6%) ratios of 0.84% and 2.44%, respectively. Nonperforming loans represented 7.2% of its loan portfolio. Fidelity Bank in Atlanta, with assets of $2 billion and a Weiss Financial Strength Rating of D+ (“Weak”), will assume the deposits of Decatur First Bank. Fidelity has a moderate capital level with a Tier 1 ratio of 9.64% and risk-based capital of 13.61%. However, the bank’s nonperforming loans comprise 4.13% of its total loans, which is higher than the industry average of 3.29%.