• Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart closed by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner on July 29.
• FDIC announced that Dream First Bank will take over the four former locations of Heartland Tri-State Bank.
• The failure of this bank is blamed on rising interest rates in the United States and insufficient risk management by banks.
Heartland Tri-State Bank Closes
The Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner closed Heartland Tri-State Bank in Elkhart, Kansas on July 29th. The FDIC then assumed control and announced that four former Heartland locations would reopen as branches of Dream First Bank starting July 31st; with all deposits, withdrawals, and loan activities to be handled by Dream First. Customers should continue to visit their regular branches until the changeover is complete.
Banking Sector Troubles
The collapse of Heartland Tri-State bank is just one more example of a string of banking sector disruptions since March when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed resulting in a pandemonium for days. In addition, J.P. Morgan recently purchased failing First Republic Bank and PacWest merged with Banc of California on July 25th adding to an already troubled sector.
Causes for Collapse
The Federal Reserve raising its benchmark rate to more than 5.25% in July (the highest level since 2007) combined with increasing inflation rates (4.1% in June) has been blamed as one cause for these failures coupled with inadequate risk management by banks being another contributing factor to this trend leading up to this most recent closure today, July 29th 2023 when Heartland Tri-State reported total assets valued at $139 million dollars and a deposit base worth $130 million dollars prior to its closure .
FDIC Takes Over
Dream First bank was given all assets from Heartland Tri-state when it took control including its deposits which will now be managed by Dream First instead along with any other financial activity related to customer accounts formerly held at Heartlands . All customers will now have their accounts migrated over to Dream First Banks new location(s).
Conclusion
It remains uncertain how many more banking sector collapses are yet ahead but what is certain is that customers affected by this most recent closure can rest assured knowing that their accounts remain safe under FDIC protection during this transition period while their accounts are migrated over from Heartlands into Dream first Banks new locations where they can continue conducting business as usual without interruption or fear for their account safety or security .