Sunwest Bank of Sandy, Utah, has acquired substantially all the deposits of Nano Banc of Irvine, California, after the California community bank failed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Friday.
The FDIC said Sunwest agreed to assume substantially all deposits at the time of closing and will purchase approximately $476 million of the failed bank's assets. The agency will retain the remaining assets for later disposition. The purchase price was not disclosed in the sources.
The FDIC estimated the failure will cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $114 million, a figure it said is subject to later adjustments. The agency said it will retain roughly $260 million of Nano Banc's assets for later disposition.
Nano Banc had $736 million of assets and a single branch, which will reopen Monday as a Sunwest branch. Depositors will automatically become Sunwest customers and will have access to their funds without interruption.
The failure is the sixth of 2026, up from two failures each in 2024 and 2025. According to the FDIC, the number of distressed "problem" banks decreased by seven to 47 institutions, or 1.1% of the industry, in the second quarter.
Carson Lappetito, president and CEO of Sunwest Bank, said in a press release that the bank was "honored to once again be selected by the FDIC as the acquiring institution of an FDIC-assisted acquisition, marking the sixth time Sunwest Bank has completed such a transaction." He said the opportunity reflects the financial strength, disciplined management and stability that have defined Sunwest Bank for more than five decades.
Sunwest describes itself as a privately held commercial bank with more than $4 billion in assets, according to its LinkedIn.
The source also notes regulatory history at Nano Banc, including a February 2021 Federal Reserve enforcement action concerning concentration risk in commercial real estate lending, a December 2021 cease-and-desist order from California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and a January 2022 Fed cease-and-desist order on compliance and governance practices.