Habersham Bank, Clarkesville, Georgia

Habersham Bank, Clarkesville, Georgia, makes it number  nineteen on the FDIC 2011 hit list. The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $90.3 million.

Habersham Bank, Clarkesville, Georgia, was closed today by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with SCBT National Association, Orangeburg, South Carolina, to assume all of the deposits of Habersham Bank.

The eight branches of Habersham Bank will reopen during their normal business hours beginning Saturday as branches of Habersham Bank, a division of SCBT National Association. Depositors of Habersham Bank will automatically become depositors of SCBT National Association. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Habersham Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from SCBT National Association that it has completed systems changes to allow other SCBT National Association branches to process their accounts as well.

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Habersham Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of December 31, 2010, Habersham Bank had approximately $387.6 million in total assets and $339.9 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, SCBT National Association agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

The FDIC and SCBT National Association entered into a loss-share transaction on $270.7 million of Habersham Bank’s assets. SCBT 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:http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/index.html.

Customers who have questions about today’s transaction can call the FDIC toll-free at 1-866-806-6128. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EST; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., EST; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., EST.

Interested parties also can visit the FDIC’s Web site for Habersham Bank.