1. Introduction
2. Press Release
3. Acquiring Financial Institution
4. Notice Regarding Distributions from Individual Retirement arrangements ("IRAs")
5. Banking Services
6. Loan Customers
7. Possible Claims Against the Failed Institution
8. Priority of Claims
9. Dividend Information
10. Brokered Deposits
11. Balance Sheet Summary

The FDIC has issued a press release about the institution’s closure.  If you represent a media outlet and would like information about the closure, please contact the FDIC Public Affairs Office at (202) 898-6993.

PR-4-2002 FDIC to Market Hamilton Bank, N.A., Assets

PR-3-2002 FDIC Approves The Assumption Of The Insured Deposits Of Hamilton Bank, National Association, Miami, Florida
Spanish Version

All insured deposit accounts at the following branches have been transferred to Israel Discount Bank of New York, New York, New York ("assuming institution") and will be available as usual during regular business hours:

Main (Doral) Office - 3750 NW 87th Avenue, Miami
Brickell Branch - 1000 Brickell Avenue, Miami
West Palm Beach Branch - 2090 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, West Palm Beach

All insured transactional accounts (savings, checking, money market) have been transferred to Israel Discount Bank of New York, New York, New York ("assuming institution") for the following branches:

Weston Branch - 2700 Commerce Parkway, Weston
Airport Branch - 3901 NW 7th Street, Miami
Sarasota Branch - 1790 Main Street, Sarasota 
Winter Haven Branch - 1120 1st Street South, Winter Haven
Tampa Branch - 2203 N. Lois Avenue, Tampa 
Puerto Rico Branch - 416 Ponce de Leon Avenue, San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Weston, Airport, Sarasota, Winter Haven, Tampa, and Puerto Rico branches will not be re-opening . FDIC was unable to find a purchaser for the non-transactional (Certificate of Deposit or Individual Retirement Account) account holders in these six branches. Checks will be mailed for the insured portion of these account(s) to the last address shown on the records of the failed institution. 

Safe Deposit Boxes at Main (Doral), Brickell (Downtown) and West Palm Beach branches will be open as usual during regular business hours and will remain available to bank customers.

If you have a safe deposit box at the Weston, Airport, Sarasota, Winter Haven, Tampa, and Puerto Rico Hamilton Bank branches, please contact FDIC Customer Service at 877-367-2717 to make an appointment to arrange access to the boxes.  

Principal and interest on insured accounts, through January 11, 2002, are fully insured by the FDIC, up to the insurance limit of $100,000. You will receive full payment for your insured account. Certain entitlements and different types of accounts may be insured for more than the $100,000 limit. IRA funds are insured separately from other types of accounts, up to a $100,000 limit.

If it is determined that you have uninsured funds, the FDIC will generate and mail to you a Receiver Certificate. This certificate entitles you to share proportionately in any funds recovered through the disposal of the assets of Hamilton Bank. This means that you may eventually recover some of your uninsured funds.

All accounts that exceed the $100,000 insurance limit, and/or all accounts that appear to be related and exceed this limit, are reviewed by the FDIC to determine their ownership and insurance coverage. If it appears that you have potentially uninsured funds, an FDIC Claims Agent will contact you, by either telephone or mail, regarding your account(s). 

If you believe you have uninsured funds, you may make an appointment to meet with a Claims Agent by calling 877-367-2717. 

Your transferred deposits will be separately insured from any accounts you may already have at Israel Discount Bank of New York for six months after the failure of Hamilton Bank. Checks that were drawn on Hamilton Bank that did not clear before the institution closed will be honored, so long as there are sufficient insured funds available in the account. You may speak to an FDIC representative regarding deposit insurance by calling 877-367-2717.

You may withdraw your funds from any transferred account without an early withdrawal penalty until you enter into a new deposit agreement with Israel Discount Bank of New York (provided the deposits are not pledged as collateral for loans).  

For additional information on deposit insurance visit EDIE the FDIC's Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator.

EDIE - FDIC's Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator

If you receive a deposit insurance check that represents a distribution from an Individual Retirement Arrangement ("IRA"), you should consult IRS Publication 590 and/or your tax advisor concerning the possible tax consequences of such distribution. The following information does not constitute tax advice and, if you have any questions concerning the possible tax consequences of such distribution, you should contact the IRS. IRS Publication 590 may be obtained and the IRS may be contacted at your local IRS office or via the Internet at www.irs.gov.

Generally, a distribution from a traditional IRA can be rolled over tax-free into another traditional IRA for a limited period of time (usually 60 days) following the date the distribution is received. Amounts not rolled over within the 60-day period will generally be treated as a taxable distribution subject to income tax and may be subject to a 10% penalty.

Please also note that, generally, you can receive a distribution from a traditional IRA and make a rollover contribution (of all or part of the amount received) to another traditional IRA only once in any one-year period. To the extent that such waiting period might otherwise apply to you and result in a taxable distribution because you have made a tax-free rollover within the past year, you should know that an exception to the one-year waiting period rule has been granted by the IRS for distributions made from a failed financial institution by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The FDIC will be providing all IRS reporting requirements (1098 for interest paid, 1099 for interest earned and IRA-related forms) for Hamilton Bank for the tax year of 2001. It will be mailed to your address of record at the bank.

Again, should you have any tax-related questions, please contact the IRS or your tax advisor.

Your checks will be processed as usual. All outstanding checks will be paid against your available insured balance(s) as if no change had occurred. Israel Discount Bank of New York will contact you soon regarding any changes in the terms of your account. If you have a problem with a merchant refusing to accept your check, please contact FDIC Customer Service at 877-367-2717. An account representative will clear up any confusion about the validity of your checks.

After January 11, 2002, any transferred accounts will earn interest at a rate determined by Israel Discount Bank of New York. You will be notified by letter regarding this matter.

Your automatic direct deposit(s) and/or automatic withdrawal(s) should be transferred automatically to your assuming institution. You should contact your assuming institution, however, to discuss your account(s) and to insure that service is not delayed or discontinued.

All your deposit account histories and records will be transferred to your assuming institution. If your assuming institution requires any additional signatures or forms, it will notify you. If you have any questions or special requests, you may contact FDIC Customer Service at 877-367-2717.

The FDIC will be providing all IRS reporting requirements (1098 for interest paid, 1099 for interest earned and IRA-related forms) for Hamilton Bank for the tax year of 2001. It will be mailed to your address of record at the bank.

Any inquiries from foreign governments may be directed to James Gallagher at 202-898-7225 or via e-mail to jgallagher@fdic.gov.

Make your checks payable to:

FDIC as Receiver for Hamilton Bank
3750 NW 87th Avenue Miami, FL 33178

The FDIC will notify you by letter if payments need to be forwarded to a different mailing address.

Outstanding letters of credit, bankers acceptances, or other obligation made by Hamilton Bank will be analyzed on a case by case basis. For further information please contact your loan officer at the former Hamilton Bank or Allen Ewing & Company at 305-717-5500.

The FDIC will be providing all IRS reporting requirements (1098 for interest paid, 1099 for interest earned and IRA-related forms) for Hamilton Bank for the tax year of 2001. It will be mailed to your address of record at the bank.

Claims against failed financial institutions occur when bills sent to the institution remain unpaid at the time of failure. Shortly after the failure, the FDIC sends notices directly to all known service providers to explain the claim filing process.

Please note: there are time limits for filing a claim, as specified in the notice.

If you provided a service for Hamilton Bank and have not received a notice, please contact:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Receiver: Hamilton Bank
Attention: Claims Department, DRR
1601 Bryan Street
Dallas, Texas 75201

Or:
Call toll free 1-800-568-9161

In accordance with Federal law, allowed claims will be paid, after administrative expenses, in the following order of priority:

The FDIC offers a reference guide to deposit brokers acting as agents for their investor clientele.   This site outlines the FDIC's policies and procedures that must be followed by deposit brokers when filing for pass-through insurance coverage on custodial accounts deposited in a failed FDIC Insured Institution.

Deposit Broker Processing Guide