‘Business as usual’ for bank

Mutual of Omaha Bank, which acquired assets from failed First National Bank of Nevada, started its first day of operation Monday in Nevada without facing lines of panicked depositors such as those who showed up when IndyMac Bank of Pasadena, Calif., failed earlier this month.

"Things have been very quiet, just business as usual," said David Barr, a spokesman for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which assumed receivership of First National Bank after it was shut down Friday evening.

The FDIC announced Friday evening that Mutual of Omaha was buying First National, the first Nevada-based bank to fail in 18 years.

First National Bank is the fifth bank and the biggest bank to fail in Nevada since the Great Depression. It is the seventh FDIC-insured bank to shut down this year.

Barr said he didn't have a good answer as to why more depositors didn't show up at Mutual of Omaha's 25 branches in Nevada and Arizona this morning, although he noted that "IndyMac was more of the exception than the rule."

The FDIC usually closes banks with the minimum of turmoil for customers, Barr said.

"Mutual of Omaha has been great to work with. They are very customer-focused," he said.

In addition, Mutual of Omaha Bank promised uninsured depositors -- typically those with more than $100,000 on deposit -- that the new bank would protect them from losses.

The new bank had no responsibility to assume the cost of protecting the accounts of uninsured deposits, but the FDIC gave the handful of bidders the option of taking both insured and uninsured deposits.

Mutual of Omaha Bank could have let depositors join other creditors in seeking to recover some of their losses from the FDIC.

"It's important to make people whole in this matter. We want these people as customers," said Jim Nolan, spokesman for Mutual of Omaha Bank.

The branch at 4950 W. Flamingo Road opened an hour early at 8 a.m. Monday with orange juice, sweet rolls and free ballpoint pins. Bankers there said they had no worried customers.

Eric Ephraim, owner of the Pool Store N More in Henderson, stopped by the branch for a transaction and said he "absolutely" intends to keep his money at the new bank.

Customers like Ephraim may continue to use their First National checks and automated teller machine cards, Nolan said. Workers at the bank were assured that they will continue to have jobs for at least 60 days, if not permanently, Nolan said.

Before taking over First National, Mutual of Omaha Bank had $735 million in assets in banks in Colorado and Nebraska, a relatively small amount compared with other regional banks that have tens of billions of assets. It is acquiring $3 billion in deposits plus $200 million in assets from First National.

Mutual of Omaha Bank is a savings bank and, under federal regulations, must focus on making residential mortgage loans and will not be able to commit as much of its resources to business loans as a commercial bank.

The federal government has been aware of problems at First National for awhile.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates national banks, on Monday disclosed a June 24 page-enforcement letter against First National Bank of Arizona and an 18-page order against First National Bank of Nevada. The two banks, both of which were owned by Raymond Lamb's First National Bank Holding Co., were merged on June 30 into one bank.

The regulatory orders directed the banks to increase their capital, which the banks apparently were unable to do, and gave the banks detailed instructions for dealing with numerous management issues.

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.