Regulators close three banks, including $7 billion Chicago institution

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seized Corus Bank N.A. and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver. The FDIC arranged for MB Financial Bank to take over Corus' eight branches and all of its roughly $7 billion in deposits.

MB Financial also agreed to buy $3 billion of the failed bank's $7 billion in assets. The FDIC will retained the remaining $4 billion in assets, which it said it expected to sell in the next 30 days through what it referred to as a "private placement transaction."

Corus had lent heavily for condominium projects in Florida, Georgia, California and other states that were hard hit by the real estate slump. It was turned down for taxpayer aid through the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program and was facing an end-of-the-month deadline to raise additional capital or find a buyer.

Regulators also shut down Venture Bank, in Lacey, Wash., and Brickwell Community Bank in Woodbury, Minn.

The FDIC struck a deal with First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. of Raleigh, N.C., to assume Venture Bank's 18 branches and $903 million in deposits. First-Citizens also bought $874 million of that failed bank's $970 million in assets, with $715 million of that amount subject to a loss-sharing deal.

CorTrust Bank, of Mitchell, S.D.,took over the lone branch of Brickwell Community Bank, as well as its $63 million in deposits and virtually all of its $72 million in assets. CorTrust and the FDIC entered into a loss-sharing deal on $65 million of the assets.

The FDIC estimated that this week's closings would cost its insurance fund around $2 billion, with Corus accounting for $1.7 billion of that total.