Sterling becomes 18th Florida bank

The Sterling Bank of Lantana became the 18th Florida bank to be shuttered and sold when it was closed by regulators Friday. Sterling, which had six branches and $407.9 million in assets as of March 31, will reopen as Iberiabank of Lafayette, La., which has assumed operations. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. acted as receiver in the deal and will share $244.3 million in loan losses. Florida has had the most bank failures of any state in 2010. [Sun Sentinel]