Illinois-based Nat'l Bank of Commerce closed

The first of the year if you don't count B of A going back for more TARP handouts:

Illinois-based Nat'l Bank of Commerce closed
By John Letzing, MarketWatch
Last update: 7:48 p.m. EST Jan. 16, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Berkeley, Ill.-based National Bank of Commerce was closed by regulators Friday, marking the first bank failure of 2009, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said in a statement.

Republic Bank of Chicago will assume all of National Bank of Commerce's deposits, while the two locations of National Bank of Commerce will reopen Saturday as branches of Republic Bank, the FDIC said.

While the bank's failure is the first of this year in the U.S., more than two dozen banks last year succumbed to the ongoing financial crisis. The last Illinois bank to fail was Eldred-based Meridian Bank, in October, the FDIC said.

National Commerce Bank had total deposits of $402.1 million as of Jan. 7, and total assets of $430.9 million, the FDIC said.
Republic Bank has agreed to buy roughly $366.6 million in National Commerce Bank's assets at a discount of $44.9 million.

The FDIC estimated that the cost of National Commerce Bank's failure to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $97.1 million. End of Story

John Letzing is a MarketWatch reporter based in San Francisco.

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