Failed Salem County bank finds a new owner, with branches remaining open

A North Carolina-based bank will take over a shuttered Pennsville-based institution, according to the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.DOBI said Friday that it closed Harvest Community Bank and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver. The FDIC, in turn, entered into a so-called “All Deposit, Whole Bank Purchase and Assumption” agreement with First Citizens BancShares Inc., based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

First Citizens BancShares, parent of First Citizens Bank, will assume Harvest Community Bank’s deposits, and customers will not experience any interruption in service, according to DOBI.

“This transaction will be completely seamless to customers with no interruption of services,” DOBI Commissioner Richard J. Badolato said in a prepared statement.

First Citizens said Harvest’s branches began operating Saturday as Harvest Community Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

“We welcome the customers of Harvest Community Bank to First Citizens,” Frank B. Holding Jr., chairman and CEO of First Citizens Bank, said in a statement. “We have more than a century of serving the financial needs of our customers, and we’re a bank people trust for delivering an exceptional banking experience.

“This agreement continues our company’s growth through mergers and acquisitions, and we look forward to a smooth transition in New Jersey.”

Harvest Community Bank opened in 2000, DOBI said, and had both its Pennsville headquarters and three additional Salem County branches, in Pilesgrove-Woodstown, Elmer and Salem. As of Sept. 30, it had about $126.4 million in assets and $123.8 million in deposits.

First Citizens was founded in 1898 and has total assets of nearly $33 billion. The takeover represents its first New Jersey presence.