Horizon Bank fails

Charlie Conoley's lengthy fight to save Bradenton-based Horizon Bank is officially over.

The Florida Office of Financial Regulation shut down Horizon Sept. 10 after regulators determined the $188 million-asset bank couldn't overcome its undercapitalization issues. Conoley, who founded Horizon in 1999, spent months arguing for more time to work out the bank's problems.

With the failure, however, comes a new entry to Florida and Gulf Coast community banking: Little Rock, Ark.-based Bank of the Ozarks. The bank, with $2.88 billion in assets, has 90 offices in six states, including Arkansas, Texas and North Carolina.

Bank of the Ozarks, through a loss-share transaction with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., took over Horizon's assets and more than $150 million in deposits. The bank will also take over Horizon's four offices spread between Manatee and Hillsborough County.

Publicly-traded Horizon Bancorporation Inc. owned Horizon Bank.