Florida Bank, Used As ATM By Insiders, Won TARP Loan But Now Teeters

U.S. Century Bank rocketed into being in 2002, with investors pouring in $30 million over three months. Four years later, the Miami-based bank boasted assets of more than $1 billion, had consistently shown a profit, and had won plaudits from banking analysts such as BauerFinancial and glowing reviews from The Miami Herald and other local media.

In 2009, as the financial crisis hit, the bank received a vote of confidence from the federal government when it won a $50.2 million loan under the federal Trouble Assets Relief Program -- money earmarked for healthy banks. It was the most TARP money given to a Florida bank. "This represents an important recognition for U.S. Century Bank as it acknowledges our strength, stability and good standing as a strong and healthy financial institution," Ramon Rasco, the bank's chairman, said in a news release [1] announcing the loan.

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