The federal government shut down Atlanta-based Silverton Bank on Friday, dealing a blow to a “bankers bank” with 1,400 client banks in 44 states, Federal regulators said today.

The announcement was made today by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which has created Silverton Bridge Bank N.A. to manage the bank. The bank, which has a strong presence in the south east United States has $4.1 billion in assets and $3.3 billion in deposits, which will be protected by the FDIC’s insurance limits.

Silverton, which does not take deposits directly from the public or make loans to consumers, provided banking services to client banks.

“Since the FDIC created a new bank to take over the operations of Silverton Bank, there is not expected to be any meaningful impact on the bank's clients,” the FDIC said in a statement.

The FDIC in March ordered Silverton to raise capital and improve its lending operations. The bank had $192 million in non-performing loans, up from $35 million in 2007, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Down