Sioux City-based Vantus Bank last Friday became the first Iowa bank to be closed by federal regulators since 2000. The Office of Thrift Supervision closed the bank on Friday, and on Saturday morning the bank’s 15 branches reopened under the ownership of Great Southern Bank of Springfield, Mo. In Greater Des Moines, Vantus operated branches in Ankeny, Johnston and West Des Moines.

Vantus was one of a half-dozen bank closings announced late Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, (FDIC), including four other Midwest-based banks. Vantus was the 87th bank in the nation to fail since the first of the year.

Depositors of the bank can continue to access their money, accounts remain insured up to $250,000 and loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual, officials said.

“We welcome Vantus Bank customers to Great Southern,” Great Southern President and CEO Joseph Turner said in a press release. “Customers can be confident that their deposits are safe and readily accessible. It’s business as usual.”

Great Southern Bank, a subsidiary of Great Southern Bancorp Inc., had $3.3 billion in assets as of June 30. With this transaction, the bank now operates 71 retail banking centers in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. The publicly traded company reported earnings of $3.3 million for the quarter that ended June 30, compared with $6.3 million for the same quarter in the prior year.

Vantus was owned by Sioux City-based First Federal Bankshares Inc., which in 2007 rebranded the bank as Vantus Bank. (Read more)

The quick action on the part of the FDIC demonstrates the value of the bank regulatory system and deposit insurance protection, said John Sorensen, president and CEO of the Iowa Bankers Association, in a press release.

“Bank customers have been protected and should see no disruption in service,” he said.

The FDIC, acting as receiver, entered into an agreement through which Great Southern Bank acquired all of Vantus Bank’s deposits and will share in its loan losses. As of Aug. 28, Vantus Bank had total assets of $458 million and total deposits of approximately $368 million.

The FDIC entered into a “loss-share” transaction on approximately $338 million of Vantus Bank’s assets, meaning Great Southern Bank will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The agreement is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector, while minimizing disruptions for loan customers, the FDIC said.

The FDIC estimated the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $168 million. FDIC officials said Great Southern’s acquisition of all of the deposits was the “least costly” resolution for the insurance fund.

In March, Great Southern acquired TeamBank, N.A., which was based in Paola, Kan., in a similar FDIC-assisted transaction and has already successfully completed the systems integration of both companies.

Though the closure demonstrates that the state isn’t immune from the lingering effects of a national recession, nearly nine out of 10 Iowa banks have remained profitable through mid-2009, Sorensen said. “This performance supplements an already strong capital position for most banks, enabling them to provide the credit necessary to rebuild our economy.”

Customers who have questions about the transaction can call the FDIC at (800) 405-1439, or visit the its Web site at www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/vantus.html.