Closed Friday, October 23, 2020 · Almena, Norton County, Kansas
Almena State Bank
Almena State Bank's assets grew 114% in the three years to the fourth quarter of 2018, then shrank 52% before it closed. No bank in Kansas had failed for three years, since The Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Argonia closed in 2017. Almena State Bank reported a net loss in three of Almena State Bank's final nine reporting years.
On the books, 2012 to 2020
Total assets peaked at $135 million. Equity capital went from 7.4% of assets in the fourth quarter of 2012 to under 0.1% at the last report. By then 24% of its loans were 90 days or more past due or no longer accruing interest. The deepest annual loss, $6.1 million, was booked in 2019.* 2020: January to September only, the last report before closing.
Size against the other 2020 failures
Total assets of each 2020 failure, log scale; Almena State Bank in red.
By assets it ranked fourth of the 4 failures in 2020. Within Kansas it ranks 38th by size of the 114 failures recorded since 1934. Across the failures of 2020, the median estimated loss came to 24% of assets. The next-larger failure of that year was Ericson State Bank of Ericson, Nebraska ($101 million, loss 23% of assets). Every 2020 failure in the explorer.
Failures in Kansas
The next was Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart, on July 28, 2023. No other failed bank in the FDIC's records was based in Norton County.