Regulators seize Sterling Bank, sell it to Iberiabank
Sterling Bank's Delray Beach office Friday evening.
By David Sedore, Palm Beach Business.com
LANTANA — Federal and state banking regulators seized Sterling Bank Friday evening, and sold the institution to Iberiabank of Lafayette, La., for $244.3 million. Under terms of the deal, Iberiabank assumes Sterling’s assets and deposits, while sharing any losses on the assets with federal regulators.
Sterling has six offices, including one in Delray Beach on South Florida Highway.
Employees of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Sterling were working in the Delray office Friday night. According to a press release posted on the bank's door, Sterling customers will have uninterrupted access to their money through their checking accounts and ATMs. The bank will reopen Monday under the Iberiabank name, and customers automatically will be customers of the Louisiana bank.
Sterling became the 97th bank in the nation to be seized by the FDIC and the 18th in Florida. The Federal Reserve deemed Sterling to be “significantly undercapitalized” and last month gave it 30 days to either find more cash or sell itself to another bank.
The move bolsters Iberiabank’s presence in South Florida. Last November, the bank took over Naples-based Orion Bank, which had three branches in Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, and Century Bank of Sarasota, which operated an office in Hollywood.
The FDIC estimates the deal will cost the insurance fund $45.5 million.
“Compared to other alternatives, Iberiabank’s acquisition was the least costly,” the FDIC said in a statement.
The complete FDIC statement is here.
