It’s business as usual at Aspen’s Community Bank

ASPEN – The federal government’s seizure of all branches of Community Banks of Colorado Friday, including the one in Aspen, and the transfer of its deposits and assets to Bank Midwest is good news for customers, according to the president of the local branch.

“Our customers aren’t really going to see any change, except the bank will have more capital,” said Adam Fortier, president of the Aspen branch. “We’re actually pretty excited.”

“This is actually good news in a lot of our minds,” he added.

It was announced last August that 16 branches of Community Banks of Colorado, including the one in Aspen, were being sold to NBH Holdings Corp. of Boston, the parent company of Bank Midwest, National Association, of Kansas City, Mo. The transaction took place Friday, expanding from 16 branches to all of them.

It was NBH’s second major purchase of troubled banks in Colorado, after its July acquisition of Bank of Choice, a Front Range institution with 17 branches from Fort Collins to Kiowa. Community Banks, held by the Greenwood Village-based Community Bankshares Inc., was under an order that the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City issued Jan. 31 to increase its equity or sell out to another bank.

Following Friday’s seizure of Community Banks branches, the FDIC entered into an agreement with Bank Midwest to assume the deposits of Community Banks of Colorado. The acquisition included 37 banks in Colorado and four in California. An FDIC representative was at the Aspen bank on Friday after it had closed for business for the day, Fortier said.

Branches will keep the Community Banks name and customers may continue to use their same checks and ATM cards, and will see the same faces behind the bank counter, according to Fortier. Depositors had continued access to their money during the changeover, the FDIC said.

Customers have had few questions about the transition, aside from inquiries about whether their money is safe, Fortier said.

“Yes, everyone’s deposits are safe,” he said.

As of June 30, 2011, Community Banks of Colorado had approximately $1.38 billion in total assets and $1.33 billion in total deposits, according to the FDIC. In addition to assuming all of the deposits and other liabilities of Community Banks, Bank Midwest agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets, the FDIC said.

Community Banks of Colorado was founded in 1989; the Aspen branch, at 210 N. Mill St., opened in February 1998.

The FDIC estimated that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $224.9 million. Compared to other alternatives, Bank Midwest’s acquisition was the least costly resolution for the fund, the FDIC said in a press release.

Community Banks of Colorado is the 84th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the sixth in Colorado, the insurer said. The last FDIC-insured institution in the state for which the FDIC was named receiver was Bank of Choice in Greeley, on July 22.

Go to http://www.fdic.gov for further details – click on Community Banks of Colorado under Bank Closing Information.

janet@aspentimes.com