First Priority Bank, Bradenton, Florida, was closed today by the Commissioner of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with SunTrust Bank, Atlanta, Georgia, to assume the insured deposits of First Priority.

The six branches of First Priority will reopen on Monday as branches of SunTrust Bank. Depositors of the failed bank will automatically become depositors of SunTrust. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. For the time being, however, customers of both banks should use their existing branches until SunTrust can fully integrate the deposit records of First Priority.

As of June 30 2008, First Priority had total assets of $259 million and total deposits of $227 million. At the time of closing, there were approximately $13 million in uninsured deposits held in approximately 840 accounts that potentially exceeded the insurance limits. This amount is an estimate that is likely to change once the FDIC obtains additional information from these customers.

SunTrust agreed to assume the insured deposits for no premium. In addition to assuming the failed bank's insured deposits, SunTrust Bank will purchase approximately $42 million of the failed bank's assets. The assets are comprised mainly of cash, cash equivalents and securities. The FDIC, however, entered into a separate agreement with LNV Corporation, Plano, Texas, to purchase $14 million in First Priority's assets. LNV Corporation is a subsidiary of Beal Bank Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.

The cost to the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund is estimated to be $72 million. First Priority is the first bank to fail in Florida since Guaranty National Bank, Tallahassee, on March 12, 2004. This year, a total of eight FDIC-insured institutions have been closed.

To read the entire FDIC statement click on the link below:

http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2008/pr08065.html