WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal regulators have shut down Ameribank
Inc., a small bank in West Virginia, saying it overextended loans
for the rehabilitation of distressed properties.

It was the 12th failure this year of a federally insured bank.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has been appointed receiver
of the bank, based in Northfork, W.Va. It had $115 million in
assets and $102 million in deposits as of June 30.

The FDIC said Friday the bank's insured deposits will be assumed
by Pioneer Community Bank Inc. of Iaeger, W.Va., and Citizens
Savings Bank in Martins Ferry, Ohio.

Its branches in West Virginia will reopen Monday as offices of
Pioneer Community Bank and its Ohio branches will reopen Sunday as
offices of Citizens Savings.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The following statement came from the WV Division of Banking:

CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Acting West Virginia Division of Banking Commissioner Sally Cline announced today the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has been named receiver by the Office of Thrift Supervision following the closure of Ameribank, a federal savings bank headquartered in Northfork, West Virginia.

“West Virginians should not consider Ameribank’s situation to be a reflection on the health of community banks in our state. I want to assure all West Virginians that our state chartered banks are stable and fundamentally sound,” Cline said.

Ameribank, though headquartered in West Virginia, was not a state chartered institution. “Due to Ameribank’s federal charter, the West Virginia Division of Banking did not have the authority to regulate the financial institution’s actions,” Cline said. The Office of Thrift Supervision was the primary federal regulator of Ameribank and its branches located in Southern West Virginia and the state of Ohio.

“I have been informed by federal regulators that Ameribank’s former branches in Welch, Bradshaw, Iaeger, Northfolk and War, West Virginia, will re-open as branches of Pioneer Community Bank of Iaeger, West Virginia, on Monday, September 22, 2008,” Cline said. “Pioneer Community Bank is a well-capitalized state-chartered community bank that has operated in this state since 1931, and, therefore, the West Virginia Division of Banking will have the authority to supervise these branches and make certain that banking laws are enforced and prudent practices followed.”

The FDIC is the insurer of Ameribank’s deposits for up to $100,000 per depositor, per insured bank, and up to $250,000 for certain self-directed retirement accounts, such as IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts). Because the Pioneer bid was for all deposits, not just the FDIC-insured amounts, depositors with funds over the FDIC insurance limits will not suffer any losses.

The West Virginia Division of Banking began in 1901 and is the state regulatory agency responsible for the oversight of depository and nondepository institutions licensed and chartered by the Division.