Bank bids heat up

When Royal Palm Bank in Naples failed on July 20, six banks signed bids to acquire the assets and deposits of the small institution from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

While it's not clear who the bidders were (only the winning bidder's name is disclosed), such interest in a relatively small bank is surprising and perhaps an encouraging sign for the local economy. Royal Palm had just $87 million in assets when state regulators shut it down and appointed the FDIC as receiver.

Still, no one is paying a lot for failed banks. Naples-based First National Bank of the Gulf Coast, won the Royal Palm bid with a $19 million discount on the assets and no premium on the deposits, according to the FDIC bid summary.

Bidders have been scouting Gulf Coast banks that failed in the last year and all of the winners have been Florida-based rivals, according to bid summaries recently posted by the FDIC.

Here's a chart of the failed banks in our region since the beginning of 2011: