First Citizens Bank orchestrated a deal with federal regulators to take over a failed Colorado bank with eight branches.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced late Friday that it closed United Western Bank, which had about $2.05 billion in assets. Its branches in Denver, Boulder and other Colorado cities will reopen on Monday morning under the First Citizens name.

It's the first FDIC-brokered takeover for Raleigh-based First Citizens in nearly a year. In 2009 and early 2010, First Citizens bought four failed banks through the FDIC, including in California and Florida.

Screenings of six short films about Smithfield and Johnston County are scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12, at the Neuse Little Theatre, 104 S. Front St., Smithfield. Admission is free, but seating is limited.

The films are:

“Post 518: Johnston County, N.C.,” by Jessie Landerman. The film explores how military service affects race relations and how small-town veterans cope with the reality of racism in America.

“The Banks of Smithfield,” by Wendy Redfield. This film tells the story of the Bank of Smithfield, now First Citizens Bank, and the roles its historic buildings have played in Smithfield and in five neighboring communities.

“Percy’s Run,” by D.L. Anderson. Joshua Percy Flowers was a moonshiner and foxhunter. This film attempts to cover the ground between the two pursuits and reveal a picture of the man apart from the legends.

“The Red Dog,” by Sara Washington. Since 1941, Carolina Packers has made what many describe as “the best hotdogs in Eastern North Carolina.” This short documentary takes a look at the people who work hard to make the hotdogs.

“The Smithfield Rescue Mission,” by Brooke Shuman. This short film shows a typical day at the Smithfield Rescue Mission men’s shelter with words from current residents.

"Tobacco Culture in Smithfield," by Maggie Smith. Residents share their memories and thoughts on the importance of tobacco culture in Smithfield and how things have changed over time.

First Citizens Bank is expanding in South Florida by buying a failed lender, in another deal brokered by federal banking regulators.

Raleigh-based First Citizens will buy Sun American Bank, a Boca Raton, Fla., lender with 12 branches. It's First Citizens' fourth deal during the past eight months orchestrated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Co.

First Citizens is using its financial stability to expand during the economic downturn, especially in regions hit hard by rising unemployment and tumbling real-estate prices. The bank previously acquired banks in Los Angeles, the Puget Sound region of Washington state and another in southern California.

The Sun American branches in Miami, Delray Beach and other Florida cities will reopen Monday under the First Citizens name. Sun American had assets of $535.7 million.

"South Florida is a great market for our company, especially with our focus on individuals, small to mid-sized businesses and the medical community," said First Citizens CEO Frank B. Holding Jr., in a prepared statement.

The FDIC has now seized 23 failed banks in the U.S. this year, following 140 in 2009.

Former First Citizens Bank executive James B. Hyler Jr. has assumed his new role: head of the U.S. Golf Association.

As its 61st president, Hyler will help oversee the group's courses and championships as the economic slump threatens the golf industry's health.

In a speech Saturday during the USGA annual meeting at Pinehurst's Carolina Hotel, Hyler also discussed the importance of the industry to be environmentally responsible during tough times.

First Citizens Bank late Friday agreed to acquire a struggling Los Angeles bank with more than $2 billion in assets and eight branches.

It was First Citizens' third deal in the past six months brokered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Raleigh-based First Citizens is using its financial stability to expand during the economic downturn, especially on the West Coast, which has been hit hard by rising unemployment and tumbling real-estate prices.

On Monday, the First Regional Bank offices in Southern California will open under the First Citizens name. The FDIC typically seizes failed banks late on Fridays, so that officials can spend the weekend converting the branches with minimal disruption for customers.

“Today’s agreement is a perfect match for our company’s strength in serving business customers,” said First Citizens CEO Frank B. Holding Jr., in a prepared statement. “It expands our presence in the greater Los Angeles area, and it allows us to take advantage of our longstanding experience as one of the nation’s top financial service providers for businesses and professionals.”

The former president of a publicly traded Raleigh company is accusing Tony Rand, one of the state's most powerful lawmakers, of insider trading and other illegal actions.

In a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, Paul Feldman, who claims he was illegally fired as president of Law Enforcement Associates in August, alleges that Rand had a scheme to profit from manipulating the value of LEA stock.

Rand, the Fayetteville Democrat who plans to step down from the state Senate this month, has been chairman of LEA's board since 2003. The company, which makes security and surveillance equipment, was spun off in 2001 from Sirchie Finger Print Laboratories, a Franklin County company started by former state Sen. John Carrington.

In his complaint, Feldman also alleges that Rand told another LEA executive that he previously had traded the stock of Raleigh-based First Citizens Bank based on inside information he had gotten from former president Frank Holding. Rand said that he "planned to do the same to LEA stock," Feldman wrote.

Rand called the charges "insane" and "hogwash."

"He's a disgruntled ex-employee," Rand said Wednesday in a phone interview. "I'm embarrassed that Frank Holding has even been mentioned in this mess. But I guess that is part of it, when you are in business and in politics. People think you are fair game and maybe you are."

LEA disclosed Feldman's allegations, including his Nov. 17 letter to the Labor Department, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

Even as it gobbles up failed banks to expand its lending business, Raleigh-based First Citizens Bank is shedding another subsidiary.

The bank has agreed to sell its bond-trustee division to U.S. Bank of Minneapolis. The division helps municipalities, universities and corporations sell bonds, and protects the interest of bondholders.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, weren't disclosed.

First Citizens is selling the division to focus on other parts of its institutional investor business, including asset management and retirement plans, said Gene Lewis, a First Citizens' senior vice president.

In recent months, First Citizens has bought two troubled West Coast banks in deals orchestrated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. First Citizens now has about 430 branches.

U.S. Bank is a division of U.S. Bancorp and has more than 2,800 branches.

First Citizens Bank is taking advantage of buying opportunities created by the recession to bulk up on the West Coast.

The Raleigh-based bank late Friday announced that it agreed to buy Venture Bank, a Lacey, Wash., lender with 18 branches in the Puget Sound area. That includes Redmond, Wash., home of Microsoft.

The deal was brokered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Washington state regulators after Venture Bank failed.

Regulators have seized and closed 92 U.S. banks this year, as the economic downturn, housing slump and credit crisis continue to create casualties among weaker lenders.

That's allowing stronger companies like First Citizens to step in and expand their operations.

First Citizens Bank will open its new 3,700-square-foot branch on Monday at 7208 Creedmoor Road in North Raleigh. The branch is actually a replacement for a smaller office in the same location. 

The Raleigh-based bank has 32 branches in the Triangle.