Stearns Bank Assumes Deposits of Jasper Banking Co.

July 30 - Jasper Banking Company, Jasper, Ga., has been closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Stearns Bank National Association, St. Cloud, Minn., to assume all of the deposits of Jasper Banking Company.

As of March 31, 2012, Jasper Banking Company had approximately $216.7 million in total assets and $213.1 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Stearns Bank National Association agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

The FDIC and Stearns Bank National Association entered into a loss-share transaction on $106 million of Jasper Banking Company's assets. Stearns Bank National Association will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-share transaction is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The transaction also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers. For more information on loss share, please visit: www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/index.html.

Customers with questions about the transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 800-822-9247. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., EDT; on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., EDT; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EDT. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's website at www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/jasper.html.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $58.1 million. Compared to other alternatives, Stearns Bank National Association's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. Jasper Banking Company is the 39th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the ninth in Georgia. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was First Cherokee State Bank, Woodstock, on July 20, 2012.