Oct. 21--After the collapse of County Bank, most of Merced County's money is kept safe in Westamerica's vaults, according to an industry report.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last week issued its annual summary of deposits analysis, which shows how much of a market share banks hold across the country.

The FDIC's breakdown is based on June figures and is released every October.

The 12 financial institutions in the county held $1.64 billion in deposits -- $97 million less than what was in bank accounts last year.

While Westamerica is the leading bank in the county, it appears to have lost about 6 percent of the market share once held by County Bank.

"To be flat-out honest, it will probably continue to go downward," Westamerica' Chief Financial Officer Robert A. Thorson said Tuesday.

He declined to speculate where its market share would level off.

Westamerica, he said, focuses on business and professional checking accounts. The lost market share comes mostly in the form of holding fewer certificates of deposit than County Bank, Thorson said.

The bank has been pleased with its performance in the Merced area, he said. The company posted a $23 million profit for the third quarter and beat analysts' expectations. Thorson said the company was criticized earlier in the decade when other institutions saw robust growth in their loan portfolio.

"We thought the underwriting was too relaxed," he said. "Now we're in a different economic environment, and those decisions are paying off."

County Bank in 1998 edged ahead of Bank of America to hold the most in deposits. At the time of its February collapse, County Bank had $676 million in deposits. Westamerica had $34 million, representing 2 percent of the market.

Westamerica held $566 million in deposits during the summer, which is 34 percent of the deposit market, according to the report. It's $144 million less than its previous market share combined with County Bank's.

Bank of America had $329 million in deposits, which accounts for 20 percent. Wells Fargo comes up third with $211 million in deposits. Both increased their market share by 2 percent.

JPMorgan Chase took the fourth spot. It was previously held by Washington Mutual, which JP Morgan Chase took over after its failure. It had $143 million in deposits.

Rabobank, which entered the Merced County market after County Bank's collapse, held $5.4 million in deposits, or 0.33 percent of the market

Reporter Scott Jason can be reached at (209) 385-2453 or sjason@mercedsun-star.com.

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