By Pete the Banker
 On Friday, ShoreBank was seized by the FDIC, closed and its core deposits and assets subsequently sold according to the Media.
The name will change to the Urban Partnership Bank, a management lead consortium of investors who were alleged to be the only bidder for the bank and it’s assets.
Its Mission and Operations will not change, being supportive of low income neighborhood and green lending. The Urban Partnership Bank will retain and operate former ShoreBank offices in the Mid West, specifically Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit. Unannounced as yet is the fate of its affiliate ShoreBank Pacific with Portland branches which for the time being apparently continue to operate as normal through the holding company.
Despite initial Media assertions of new management, the major Bank Executives, appointed in May, will continue to run the Bank. Mr. Vitale is to remain the Executive Chairman. William Farrow will continue to be ShoreBank’s President and Chief Operating Officer. The FDIC simply states they weren’t responsible for the failure of the Bank, although keeping prior management even interim management is unprecedented.
Its is widely reported in the press that there was no federal bailout because the Administration refused to commit the $75 million set aside. Even the Free Republic reported that the Federal Funding never materialized, although curiously a few paragraphs later states the obvious that, “The FDIC estimated that the cost of the deal to its insurance fund is $367.7 million, but that the transaction saved its insurance fund $250 million to $334 million over a liquidation.” Here However one way or another the taxpayer is bailing out the bank and at a cost of more than $75 million.
ShoreBank is a private bank and the details of the sale have not been disclosed, as yet. In addtition to the sale, the buyers entered an loss sharing agreement with the FDIC on $1.4 Billion of ShoreBank¹s assets. Here Generally such agreements provide loss protection to the “new” buyer/owners. However here some sources are suggesting that existing shareholders of ShoreBank may be retaining an equity position (including management Vitale and Farrow?) and joining publicly announced investors like Bank of America, Citigroup, the Ford Foundation, GE Capital, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, the Goldman Sachs Group and Wells Fargo & Co. Here.
One has a few more prominent investors involved, but this FDIC seizure is unique! Unlike prior FDIC bank seizures it changes little in the structure, management, mission and operation of the organization. Was proper procedure followed and if so why was there only only bidder, an investror group apparently led by existing interim management? So aside from the name change and the taxpayer disbursement of more funds, what else has really changed at ShoreBank?
Tell ’em where you saw it. Http://www.victoriataft.com