First National Bank Closing is Nothing to get Depressed About

The failed First National Bank of Nevada, which closed this past Friday, opened its doors Monday morning as a brand-spanking-new Mutual of Omaha Bank.

First National is the first Nevada-based bank to close its doors in over 18 years, and the largest to close in Nevada since the Great Depression. While this doesn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence in the new bank’s venture, opening day was apparently nothing to get bothered about.

The 4950 W. Flamingo Road branch opened bright and early at 8:00 a.m. with orange juice, sticky buns and free ballpoint pens. Bankers said they had no worried customers and overall it was a quiet start for the new bank, unlike the panicked crowds that descended upon doomed IndyMac banks in California just a few weeks ago.

Bank customers have been told they can continue using their First National checks and ATM cards, and bank workers have been assured they’ll have their jobs for at least another 60 days if they’re not kept on permanently. Quite a change from the bank closings of the Great Depression, I’m sure!