Closed Friday, December 4, 2009 · Aurora, Kane County, Illinois
Benchmark Bank
Benchmark Bank's founding in 1898 put it past its 100th year when it closed. Equity capital was below zero at its last report. In 2009 regulators closed 21 banks in Illinois; this was the 20th.
On the books, 2001 to 2009
Total assets peaked at $236 million in the second quarter of 2008 and were 27% lower at the final report. Equity capital had covered 7.5% of assets in the fourth quarter of 2001. By then 17% of its loans were 90 days or more past due or no longer accruing interest. It reported a net loss in four of its final nine reporting years. The deepest annual loss, $35.5 million, was booked in 2009 in only part of the year.* 2009: January to September only, the last report before closing.
Size against the other 2009 failures
Total assets of each 2009 failure, log scale; Benchmark Bank in red.
By assets it ranked 89th of the 140 failures in 2009. Within Illinois it ranks 57th by size of the 185 failures recorded since 1934. Across the failures of 2009, the median estimated loss came to 27% of assets. In the size ranking of that year, just above it was Flagship National Bank of Bradenton, Florida ($178 million, loss 35% of assets); just below, Freedom Bank of Georgia of Commerce, Georgia ($172 million, loss 25% of assets). Every 2009 failure in the explorer.
Regulators closed six banks that day. The largest of the others was AmTrust Bank of Cleveland, Ohio, at $11.4 billion.
Failures in Illinois
The previous failure there was Community Bank of Lemont of Lemont, on October 30, 2009. The next was Independent Bankers' Bank of Springfield, on December 18, 2009. Kane County has 4 failed banks on FDIC record since 1934. The others: St Charles Savings and Loan Association (1990), Valley Community Bank (2011), First Choice Bank (2011).