PTI

New York, Oct 25: In another sign of deepening financial crisis, Stearns Bank will acquire the failed Georgia-based Alpha Bank and Trust, making it the 16th American bank to fall this year.

On Friday, the US authorities seized the operations of Alpha Bank.

"Alpha Bank and Trust, Alpharetta, Georgia, was closed today by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named receiver.

"To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Stearns Bank, National Association, St Cloud, Minnesota, to assume the insured deposits of Alpha Bank & Trust," the FDIC said in a statement yesterday.

The statement noted that Alpha Bank is the 16th FDIC-insured institution to be closed this year and added that the cost to its Deposit Insurance Fund would be $158.1m.

In a separate statement on Friday, Stearns Bank's Chief Executive Norman C Skalicky said the current capital position of the bank is about $250m.

"We have over 23% capital in our banking system today. This is three times the average capital of all commercial banks in the United States, four times what is considered being well capitalised, and almost ten times what some of the investment banks have or had."

"We have a very sound and diversified asset portfolio spread between six different financial products. We are pleased to bring the safety and soundness of Stearns Bank to the former depositors of Alpha Bank & Trust," Norman C Skalicky said.

Minnesota-based Stearns Bank has more than one billion dollars in assets.