State Closes San Joaquin Bank

Oct 16, 2009

(San Francisco, CA) – The California Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) announced today that regulators have closed San Joaquin Bank, citing inadequate capital and inadequate liquidity.

San Joaquin Bank, located in Bakersfield, is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. As of September 30, 2009, it had total assets of approximately $766 million and total deposits of approximately $626 million. The DFI has been closely monitoring the bank because of its inadequate capital level. The DFI had ordered it to increase its capital reserves to a safe and sound level but efforts by the bank to do so were unsuccessful.

Immediately following the closure, the DFI named the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as Receiver of San Joaquin Bank. The depositors of San Joaquin Bank are protected by the FDIC. The FDIC has accepted a bid from Citizens Business Bank, a state chartered bank located in Ontario, California, to assume the branch deposits and significantly all the assets of San Joaquin Bank. For information about FDIC coverage limits and requirements, visit www.fdic.gov or call toll-free 1-877-ASK-FDIC.

DFI supervises over 700 state financial institutions. Maintaining the integrity of financial services remains the primary mission of the Department. The DFI is responsible for administering state laws regulating state-licensed financial institutions: banks, credit unions, industrial banks, trust companies, offices of foreign banks, issuers of travelers’ checks and payment instruments (money orders), and money transmitters. In addition to posting information about licensees, the DFI Web site features consumer information on a variety of financial topics and DFI consumer information brochures available in seven languages.

The Department reports to Dale E. Bonner, Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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