Regulators have terminated a memorandum of understanding with a banking unit of Banner Corp. (BANR) after the Walla Walla, Wash., returned to profitability for 2011.
The March 2010 order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions against Banner Bank was lifted on Monday, the $4.3 billion-asset Banner Corp. said in a regulatory filing Thursday.
The Federal Reserve Board still has a memorandum of understanding with the company, which Sandler O’Neill & Partners L.P. predicted in a company note would be lifted soon.
Banner Corp. has posted a profit for the last three quarters as nonperforming assets declined and cost of funds fell. In the fourth quarter, it earned $5.1 million, compared with a $12.7 million loss a year earlier. For 2011, the company’s profit totaled $5.5 million, compared with a loss of $61.9 million in 2010.
