Duluth's Haven Trust Bank closes

Haven Trust Bank of Duluth was the fifth bank to be closed in Georgia this year, one of 24 in the country.

Depositors kept access to their money, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) entered into an agreement with BB&T of Winston-Salem, N.C., to assume all of Haven Trust's deposits, including those that exceeded the insurance limit.

Over the weekend, depositors of Haven Trust can access all their money by writing checks or using ATMs or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

The fourth Haven Trust branches -- the Duluth headquarters on Sugarloaf Parkway next to The Gwinnett Center, the Johns Creek brank on McGinnis Ferry Road east of Medlock Bridge Road, the Decatur branch on Lawrenceville Highway at North Druid Hills Road in DeKalb County and the Snellville branch on Scenic Highway North -- will reopen Monday as branches of BB&T.

Haven Trust opened its Johns Creek branch in summer 2006 as it built the current two-story, 12,000 square foot facility.

All the depositors of Haven Trust will automatically become depositors of BB&T. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their existing banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers of the failed bank should continue to use their existing branches until they receive further information from BB&T.

Don't reply to e-mail
It is important to note that neither the FDIC as receiver nor BB&T as the acquiring institution will e-mail customers of Haven Trust asking them to validate their deposits or to request personal, confidential information, such as account numbers, social security numbers or driver's license numbers. Customers will not be asked to revalidate passwords, deposit accounts or deposit insurance.
If customers receive e-mails asking for such personal information, they should consider the e-mails fraudulent and should not respond.

Haven Trust Bank was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, and the FDIC was named receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with BB&T, to assume all of Haven Trust's deposits. BB&T agreed to assume all of the deposits for $112,000. In addition, BB&T will purchase approximately $55 million of the failed bank's assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.

As of Dec. 8, Haven Trust had total assets of $572 million and total deposits of $515 million.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $200 million. The BB&T's acquisition of all deposits was the "least costly" resolution for the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund compared to alternatives. The last bank to be closed in the state was First Georgia Community Bank, Jackson, on Dec. 5.
- www.northfulton.com

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