Texas Bank Collapse Sparks Second U.S. Failure of 2025
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In a stark reminder of the fragility still lurking within America’s smaller financial institutions, Santa Anna National Bank was closed on Friday by federal regulators after suspected fraud and unsound practices caused a rapid deterioration of its finances.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) closed the single-branch bank in Santa Anna, Texas, making it the second U.S. bank to fail in 2025.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), appointed as receiver, announced that Coleman County State Bank of nearby Coleman, Texas, will assume all of Santa Anna’s insured deposits and a portion of its assets.
According to the FDIC, the failure will cost the Deposit Insurance Fund an estimated $23.7 million, a figure that could change as remaining assets are liquidated.
The OCC said it took action after determining the bank’s assets had been substantially dissipated due to unsafe or unsound practices.
The regulator added that Santa Anna’s obligations exceeded its assets, rendering it unable to operate safely.
Founded in 1933, Santa Anna National Bank held $76.9 million in assets and $71.4 million in deposits as of mid-April. But by June 18, those numbers had plunged to $63.8 million in assets and $53.8 million in deposits.
Around $2.8 million of those deposits exceeded federal insurance limits, although that number may change as the FDIC receives more data from customers.
The bank’s office will reopen Monday as a branch of Coleman County State Bank, whose CEO Reave Scott welcomed Santa Anna’s customers and staff.
“Our dedication to Santa Anna and its surrounding areas remains as steadfast as our long-standing commitment to strengthening the communities of Coleman, Abilene, and recently San Angelo,” he said.
Coleman County State Bank, founded in 1936 and with six locations across Texas, had $221.1 million in assets as of late April.
It acquired Santa Anna’s insured deposits with a 5.16% premium. The FDIC has retained a large share of Santa Anna’s assets for future disposition.
This marks the second fraud-related bank failure of the year. In January, Pulaski Savings Bank in Chicago collapsed under similarly suspicious circumstances.
An FDIC Inspector General report later revealed $20.7 million was missing from Pulaski’s core system, rendering it ‘critically undercapitalized.’ That failure cost the DIF an estimated $28 million.
While large-scale bank failures have so far been avoided in 2025, these smaller collapses hint at persistent vulnerabilities in regulatory oversight and internal controls – especially at community banks.