George Washington Savings Bank, a $412.8 million-asset thrift established in 1889, failed Friday, and its assets and deposits were purchased by FirstMerit Bank of Akron.
In December George Washington was hit with a cease-and-desist order from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
The regulator had ordered the Orland Park-based lender, which also has branches in Oak Lawn, Western Springs and Chicago, to boost its capital levels.
Its failure will cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. $141.4 million.
George Washington lost $29.4 million in 2009.
Of its $305 million in loans, about $125 million were seriously delinquent at the end of 2009.
George Washington is the 19th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the second in Illinois. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Town Community Bank and Trust of Antioch, on Jan. 15.
FirstMerit recently announced plans to enter the Chicago market by buying the 24 Chicago-area branches of First Bank of St. Louis. At the time, it said it would continue to review potential growth opportunities in the Chicago area.
Click HERE for a copy of the FDIC’s announcement.
