Troubled BancTexas Will Merge With Dallas Bank

BancTexas Group Inc., troubled by bad energy and real estate loans, says it has given tentative approval for a merger with United National Bank of Dallas.

The deal contains numerous contingencies, including the sale of certain loans to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the sale of BancTexas’ four Houston banks to a third party.

United National Bank is a member of the Ford Bank Group, a collection of 25 banks in Texas and New Mexico with assets of $2.2 billion.

BancTexas has 12 banks and assets totaling $1.8 billion.

Analysts had predicted a possible merger and the sale of BancTexas’ Houston banks as steps that the state’s 10th-largest bank holding company probably would take to meet federal regulators’ orders for an infusion of capital.

BancTexas said its approval of a letter of intent with Gerald J. Ford, chairman of Ford Bank Group, calls for a restructuring and $30 million in new capital.

But Ford Group would have to raise $25.5 million in new capital.

The deal also requires a commitment by the Federal Reserve Board to extend to BancTexas a line of credit and an FDIC promise of substantial assistance, with approval by Aug. 15.

The letter of intent provides for the merger of United National Bank into BancTexas, forming a new holding company, which would receive a new class of BancTexas common stock and the right to elect two-thirds of the directors.