Archive for January, 2010

Here is a the press release from the FDIC:

Evergreen Bank Seattle, Washington, was closed today by the Washington Department of Financial Institutions, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Umpqua Bank, Roseburg, Oregon, to assume all of the deposits of Evergreen Bank.

The seven branches of Evergreen Bank will reopen on Monday as branches of Umpqua Bank. Depositors of Evergreen Bank will automatically become depositors of Umpqua Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Umpqua Bank that it has completed systems changes to allow other Umpqua Bank branches to process their accounts as well.

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Evergreen 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 September 30, 2009, Evergreen Bank had approximately $488.5 million in total assets and $439.4 million in total deposits. Umpqua Bank will pay the FDIC a premium of 1.0 percent to assume all of the deposits of Evergreen Bank. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Umpqua Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

The FDIC and Umpqua Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $379.5 million of Evergreen Bank’s assets. Umpqua Bank 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 1-800-528-6215. 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 also can visit the FDIC’s Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/evergreen-wa.html.

As part of this transaction, the FDIC will acquire a cash participant instrument. This instrument serves as additional consideration for the transaction.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $64.2 million. Umpqua Bank’s acquisition of all the deposits was the “least costly” resolution for the FDIC’s DIF compared to all alternatives. Evergreen Bank is the eighth FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the second in Washington. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Horizon Bank, Bellingham, on January 8, 2010.

No. 6: Bank of Leeton in Leeton, Missouri was closed, then taken over by Sunflower Bank of Salina, Kansas. The Bank of Leeton had one branch. Estimated cost to the FDIC: $8.1 million.

No. 7 Charter Bank of Santa Fe, N.M., was closed, then taken over by Charter Bank of Albuquerque, N.M. (A newly chartered state bank). The failed bank had 8 branches. Estimated cost to the FDIC: $201.9 million.

The first bank closure of the day is in Miami, Fla (details below). This is the fifth bank closure  of 2010. I’ll update with new posts if there are other closures this afternoon/evening:

Premier American Bank was closed, taken over by Premier American Bank National Association. The failed bank had four branches. Estimated cost to the FDIC: $85 million.

Was scrolling through Bellingham building permits and found some interesting retail happenings:

– At 1426 Cornwall Ave., a permit has been issued for Chocolate Necessities to do tenant improvement work. That spot is near the Pickford Cinema.

– A permit application for 960 Harris Ave., unit 103, (the former Chispa space ) proposes to convert the space into an art gallery.

– There’s a tenant improvement permit application for 1228 N. State St (near Rudy’s Pizza) to put in a new restaurant/deli.

Whatcom Plaza on West Kellogg Road near Whatcom Community College recently signed two new tenants, according to Keith Troske, a developer of the retail center. 

One is Westside Pizza, which has several locations in this region, including Lynden. The other tenant is a 24-hour Tan & Juice Bar. Those two will join Anytime Fitness and Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at the center.

While down overall for the year, several Whatcom County communities were busy with property transactions in December.

Last month 165 properties were sold in Bellingham, up 33 percent compared to December 2008, according to data from First American Title in Bellingham. Total property sales include residential, industrial, commercial and undeveloped land.

For 2009, Bellingham had 1,806 property sales, down 9.7 percent compared to 2008.

Ferndale, Lynden and Blaine totaled 156 property transactions in December, up from 107 in December 2008. For the year, those three communities had 1,651 property sales, down 7.6 percent compared to 2008.

In light of the unemployment news from the previous post, here is an update on the hiring going on by the Census folks:

Open less than three months, the Everett Local Census office serving Snohomish, Island, Skagit, Whatcom and San Juan counties has now topped 75 full-time employees and will soon be adding more than 1,000 part-time positions in order to count every person from the King/Snohomish County line to the Canadian border.
People with flexible schedules are needed to fill part-time positions as enumerators, counting their neighbors in the upcoming census, according to a press release from the Everett Local Census Office. Those who speak English as a second language are also needed to make sure their communities are properly represented.
People interested in these positions can call (866) 861-2010 to find a testing session nearest them. Tests are being conducted throughout Washington. Tests in Snohomish, Island, Skagit, Whatcom and San Juan Counties are being offered during the day, evenings and on weekends. 2010 Census job applicants must be at least 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number, be able to pass a background check and take a 30-minute multiple-choice employment test that measures knowledge, skills and abilities to perform a variety of census jobs.
To demonstrate how the Census operations will work in the North Sound, the Everett Local Census Office will hold a public open house from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 3. At the open house people can learn more about how operations are conducted, the jobs available, and how to apply. The office is at 1615 75th Street SW, Suite 110 in Everett.
There is also a practice test available online at www.2010censusjobs.gov.

We’ll have an online story up soon, but here are some details:

Whatcom County’s unemployment rate was 8.3 percent in December, up from a revised rate of 7.9 percent in November, according to the latest data from the Washington State Employment Security Department.

The state’s seasonably adjusted unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in December, up from 9 percent in the previous month.
Last month there were 8,860 actively seeking employment in Whatcom County, up 350 from November. The December total is an increase of 2,120 from a year ago.

Local construction employment continues to decline. In December there was an estimated 6,000 people employed in the industry, the lowest level since April 2002. The government sector also continued to shed jobs, decreasing by 400 between November to December to 16,200. There were 10,300 people employed in retail during in the final weeks of the holiday season, down from 10,700 in December 2008.
Skagit County also saw a significant jump in the unemployment rate. It was 10.7 percent in December, up from a revised November rate of 10.1 percent. The Seattle/Everett/Bellevue area’s unemployment rate was 9 percent in December, up from 8.4 percent in the previous month.

I just got off the phone with Dennis Curtis, general manager at Bellis Fair. He gave me an update on the last post about Silver Safari moving into the former Sweet Factory space. This move will allow the Verizon Service Center to expand. They’ll take the old Silver Safari spot and the former Kits Cameras space next door, giving them slightly more than 2,000 square feet of space. Remodeling for that project is expected to begin in February, he said.

A few random business notes…

– Silver Safari, which is currently in the Kohl’s wing at Bellis Fair, is moving into the former Sweet Factory space next to Kay Jewelers.

– Hooligans, a barber and tattoo shop, has moved to 1240 E. Maple St., Suite 104, near The Pizza Pipeline. It had been on Commercial Street.

– There’s a sign up for Power Fitness Super Smoothies at Bakerview Square as a potential new tenant.

– There is a new liquor license application for the gas station/mini mart at 2730 Meridian St. (Near the Meridian Haggen). The new business name on the application is Soojung and the applicant is Joung S. Kim.