Feb. 10--All 39 branches of failed County Bank reopened for business under the ownership of Westamerica Bank on Monday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. confirmed.

The California Department of Financial Institutions on Friday closed Merced-based County Bank, which is owned by Capital Corp. of the West. The state agency immediately appointed the FDIC as the receiver.

As in other bank failures, the FDIC had worked out a deal in advance to sell County Bank's deposits and branches. The buyer is Westamerica Bank of San Rafael. Regulators took over the bank after it closed Friday to expedite the transition. Nine branches with Saturday hours opened as usual, but as West-america branches.

David Barr, an FDIC spokesman, said the transition seemed to be going smoothly and no serious problems were reported at any of the branches Monday.

Deposits, money markets, checking accounts and all other financial tools continue to be insured by the FDIC. Barr said the protection simply rolls over with the merger because Westamerica purchased all of County Bank's assets and now stands behind them.

Barr said customers don't need to to change their banking relationship to retain their coverage, adding that people with money in both banks have up to 90 days to restructure those finances if they exceed FDIC limits.

Customers of both banks should continue to use their existing branches until West-america can fully integrate the records of County Bank. Barr said that could take a couple of months.

John and Andrena Paladini of Modesto, longtime customers of County Bank, said Monday they weren't worried about the money they had in the bank because it was insured. But they were worried about the future of bank employees at the downtown Modesto branch.

"We really like the people here. They know your name and really make you feel comfortable," John Paladini said. "We'll stay here as long as the service stays the same."

Employees working as temps

County Bank is the ninth bank to fail in the nation this year, and the third in California.

Its closure came as little surprise Friday after County Bank reported a week earlier that its losses linked to bad real estate development loans had swelled to about $96 million. It reported its first an-nual loss of $3.7 million at the end of 2007.

Rob Thorson, chief financial officer for Westamerica, said his company has had a presence in the Northern San Joaquin Valley for many years and knows what serv-ices the region's banking customers need and want.