Orange County Register

Pacific Coast National Bank of San Clemente was closed today by federal regulators.

Customers with money in Pacific Coast need not fear for their deposits — they will all be assumed by Sunwest Bank in Tustin. The two branches of Pacific Coast National Bank will reopen on Monday as branches of Sunwest Bank.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation estimates its insurance fund will take a $27.4 million hit from the failure of Pacific Coast.

Interestingly, Pacific Coast may be the first bank, or one of the first, to fail that received recent federal aid. Back in January the bank said it got $4.12 million of federal funds under the TARP program. At the time the bank said it was “well-capitalized.”

A few months later the bank said it realized its loan portfolio was worse than it appeared.

Pacific Coast National Bank is the 123rd FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the fifteenth in California.

Here’s from the FDIC:

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Pacific Coast National 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 August 31, 2009, Pacific Coast National Bank had total assets of $134.4 million and total deposits of approximately $130.9 million. Sunwest Bank did not pay a premium to assume all of the deposits of Pacific Coast National Bank. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Sunwest Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

Customers who have questions about today’s transaction can call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-913-3067. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time (PST); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., PST; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., PST; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., PST. Interested parties can also visit the FDIC’s Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/pacificcoastnatl.html.

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