May 28, 2009

A local bank has been told to cease and desist.The Department of Treasury says Citizens National Bank is practicing unsound banking.But, if you have money at CNB, you don't need to be worried. The bank is still FDIC insured, so money there is safe. However, because the bank has too many loans out, it will have to restructure.A few years ago, the sounds of construction could be heard in nearly every neighborhood.

Frank Hilton: "The old saying was anyone with a pick-up truck and a hammer could become a builder," says Frank Hilton, CNB Chairman and CEO.Today, neighborhoods are quiet."I think we all know what precipitated that: the subprime loan crisis," says Hilton.Home building at a standstill. And Citzens National Bank is now being told by the Department of Treasury that it approved way too many loans."I think all of us as banks fell victim to that a little bit. We were caught with an unusually high concentration of real estate loans," says Hilton.