Hundreds Line Up at Far Western to Claim Money

Hundreds of depositors converged on the headquarters of Far Western Bank on Monday to claim some of the $142 million they had in accounts at the failed institution, which was closed Friday by state regulators.

Depositors began lining up before 6 a.m. and continued arriving in such numbers that the line did not grow short enough to fit inside the branch until after 3 p.m., said Carl H. Ryan, an official with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

As many as 100 customers stood outside at one point, waiting up to two hours to get their refunds. Ryan said he did not know how many depositors showed up or how much money was refunded.

The FDIC, which was appointed the bank’s receiver, will keep the office open for refunds from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Saturday, Ryan said. Any depositor who wants a refund after that date must make arrangements with the FDIC through the mail, he said.

The agency will also keep the bank’s five loan centers open indefinitely to continue servicing auto loan contracts. Far Western, which invested nearly all of its assets in low-quality auto loans, is billing and collecting payments on about 16,000 of its own car loans and about 30,000 car loans it purchased from other lenders, Ryan said.

The state closed the bank because it had nearly run out of capital and was operating in an unsafe manner.