WASHINGTON, D.C. - First Bank of Idaho, FSB, Ketchum, Idaho, was closed Friday by the Office of Thrift Supervision, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with U.S. Bank, Minneapolis, Minn., to assume all of the deposits, excluding those from brokers, of First Bank of Idaho.

The failed bank had seven offices in Idaho and Wyoming. All seven offices will reopen on Monday as branches of U.S. Bank. Depositors of First Bank of Idaho will automatically become depositors of U.S. Bank.

Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers of both banks should continue to use their existing branches until U.S. Bank can fully integrate the deposit records of First Bank of Idaho.

Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of Dec. 31, 2008, First Bank of Idaho had total assets of approximately $488.9 million and total deposits of $374.0 million. U.S. Bank paid a premium of 0.55 percent to acquire the deposits of First Bank of Idaho.

U.S. Bank will not assume $112.8 million in brokered deposits held by First Bank of Idaho. The FDIC will pay the brokers directly for the amount of their funds. Customers who placed money with brokers should contact them directly for more information about the status of their deposits.

PHOENIX - The Arizona Corporation Commission on Tuesday ordered Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. to pay a $455,128 fine for providing misleading information on its auction-rate securities (ARS) sales in Arizona. In other cases, the Commission sanctioned two individuals and their affiliated companies for securities fraud, ordering them to pay over $3.6 million in restitution and $150,000 in administrative penalties. The consent order approved Tuesday is the final step in Arizona's auction rate securities case against Citigroup, which was tentatively settled in August 2008.

The investigation into Citigroup’s role in the marketing of auction-rate securities is part of a larger state-led effort to address problems in connection with ARS investments. As a result of investor complaints, 12 states, including Arizona, formed a task force to investigate whether the nation’s prominent Wall Street firms had systematically misled investors when placing them in auction-rate securities. During the investigation, regulators discovered that Citigroup failed to adequately inform customers and train employees on the risks associated with buying auction-rate securities.

Although marketed and sold to investors as safe, liquid, and cash-like investments, auction-rate securities are actually long-term investments subject to a complex auction process that, upon failure, can lead to illiquidity and lower interest rates. The Commission found that Citigroup fostered misconceptions about the liquidity of auction-rate securities by providing customers with account portfolio summaries that listed auction-rate securities as “cash equivalents.”