Priority Bank is 8th U.S. bank to fail

Bradenton, Fla -- Assets of First Priority Bank, the eighth U.S. bank to fail this year, have been transferred to other institutions, federal authorities say.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that $42 million of assets held by the failed First Priority, of Bradenton, Fla., have been purchased and assumed by SunTrust Banks Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported.

The FDIC also told reporters it had reached a deal with a unit of Beal Bank Nevada to purchase an additional $14 million in First Priority's assets.

First Priority had total assets of $259 million as of June 30, with total deposits of $227 million and $13 million in uninsured deposits, possibly exceeding the FDIC's limit for such deposits.

The bank had lost $15.5 million so far this year, the Journal said.

"This was a dead bank walking," Miami banking consultant Ken Thomas told the newspaper, adding that he expects to see more failures along Florida's west coast, where start-up banks emerged while cashing in on the state's residential building boom.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.