News 12 at 11 o'clock, March 21, 2009

GIBSON, Ga.---A grim sign of times as another Georgia bank is shut down. This makes the 20th national bank to be closed in 2009 and the third in Georgia. This time it's FirstCity bank in Gibson, Georgia -- that's in Glascock County. The bank is the only one in Gibson and many people are wondering what it all means.

Imagine going to get some cash out for the weekend and finding your bank closed and two security guards standing outside. Well that's what happened to the customers of FirstCity bank in Gibson and now they're asking questions.

Anita Daniel is trying to figure out what these papers mean. She had a business account at FirstCity bank and her son had savings there.

"They're upset and it's confusing people and they don't know what's going on, and you know I don't either," says Anita.

Others are just as confused finding out their bank is closed for good. "I don't really know anything other than they closed and I can't get to my money right now," says customer James Price.

The bank was shut down by the state of Georgia on Friday. They say the bank failed because it invested too heavily in construction and development loans before the economy took a nosedive.

The FDIC or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has stepped in to handle all accounts.

"What we're doing now is we're preparing to pay out deposits because we were unable to find a buyer for the former FirstCity Bank," says FDIC Associate Rickey McCullough.

The FDIC plans to mail out checks to those customers with deposits less than $250,000 dollars on Monday.

"Is my money safe is probably the number one question we get," says McCullough.

And even though they say it's insured, customers are still going to have to make some changes, since the nearest bank is about 20 miles away.

"It's not I'm worried about the money, its just a lot of aggravation going through all the arrangements," says Price.

"There's no point in getting upset. I mean they say they're going to give us our money. We're gonna see how FDIC works," adds customer Barbara Swint.

For Anita, she's also trying to explain to her 77-year-old mother what it means for the account she held at FirstCity for decades.

"For them its like starting over. They're going to have to go outside the county to do their banking and re-establish everything," says Anita.

FirstCity Bank had three locations, the Stockbridge and Mcdonough branch, also closed.

In Gibson, there will be a town hall meeting Sunday afternoon to answer questions. It will be at 3:00PM at the Glascock County School Gymnasium Auditorium.

More Information:
If your account was less than $250,000, expect that check by the end of the week.

If your balance was more than a quarter million - you'll need to contact the FDIC. You can do that at www.fdic.gov

As for any written checks, the FDIC says to get in touch with the people you've written your checks too and they say you should not be fined.

Any federal direct deposit payments, like Social Security or retirement, will automatically be transferred to the Suntrust Bank in Thomson.

The FDIC says if you're not sure how much of your money is insured, or to what limits you can go to their website, www.fdic.org and look at their Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator to see.