Feb. 3--County Bank is open for business and operating as usual, but its CEO could offer no reassurance about the bank's future Monday.

Capital Corp of the West, which owns County Bank, issued a statement Friday night declaring that a loss of $96 million last year caused it to question whether it could remain solvent.

The news spells an uncertain future for Merced's biggest bank and its only publicly traded company. It raises the possibility that it could declare bankruptcy or be taken over or bought by another financial institution, or by the U.S. government.

In an interview Monday, County Bank CEO Richard Cupp said he couldn't rule out any of those prospects.

"We're pursuing every possible option to address the critical capital and portfolio issues the bank is facing," said Cupp, who took over as CEO six months ago. "We continue to be ground zero for the real estate and economic woes of this country, and it is what it is."

Beyond that, Cupp declined to discuss what the bank's future might hold, saying any comments would only be speculation. He said he couldn't answer questions about whether Capital Corp is in talks to sell County Bank.

He added that the bank's depositors shouldn't be concerned, though he encouraged customers to make sure they have the most Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection possible, whether their accounts are at County Bank or another institution.

Capital Corp's stock price fell 41 cents Monday to close at 19 cents, a 75 percent decline.

In some ways, County Bank couldn't be in better executive hands. Cupp, a four-decade veteran of the banking industry, has been known for years as a bank savior. He came out of semiretirement last year to lead County Bank, presenting a resume lined with successful turnaround and rescue efforts at a variety of financial institutions.

County Bank, like hundreds of other financial institutions nationwide, has been waiting to find out what TARP -- the federal bailout program -- might have in store for it. The feds haven't been forthcoming and seem at least as confused, at times, as the institutions they're supposed to be helping.

The way TARP is being administered has led to a serious unintended consequence. Financial institutions waiting to find out whether they'll get federal funding have slowed down on homegrown rescue strategies. Waiting for the feds has put a chill on private-equity solutions for banks like County Bank.

One possible scenario -- not confirmed in any way by County Bank officials -- would see the federal government once again embrace credit allocation, as occurred during the Nixon administration.