Fourth largest bank failure this year!
CLEVELAND, Ohio - December 4, 2009 - AmTrust Bank, which opened with one office on Valentine's Day 120 years ago and grew to one of the nation's 100 largest banks, was seized by federal regulators Friday and bought by New York Community Bank of Westbury, New York.
AmTrust is the first Northeast Ohio bank to fail since TransOhio Federal Savings Bank of Cleveland was seized 17 years ago.
AmTrust, the latest calamity in the nation's 2-year-old banking crisis, became the 128th bank to fail this year, and the second in Ohio. Six banks in all failed Friday, bringing the year's total to 130. With assets of $12 billion, AmTrust was the fourth largest to fail this year.
New York Community Bank, one of the nation's 25 largest banks and one of its strongest, paid nothing to take over AmTrust's $8 billion in deposits, which indicates AmTrust was essentially worth nothing, analysts said. About 77% of the privately owned bank was held by the Goldberg family, which had controlled it for nearly five decades.
AmTrust is the first Northeast Ohio bank to fail since TransOhio Federal Savings Bank of Cleveland was seized 17 years ago.
AmTrust, the latest calamity in the nation's 2-year-old banking crisis, became the 128th bank to fail this year, and the second in Ohio. Six banks in all failed Friday, bringing the year's total to 130. With assets of $12 billion, AmTrust was the fourth largest to fail this year.
New York Community Bank, one of the nation's 25 largest banks and one of its strongest, paid nothing to take over AmTrust's $8 billion in deposits, which indicates AmTrust was essentially worth nothing, analysts said. About 77% of the privately owned bank was held by the Goldberg family, which had controlled it for nearly five decades.
