Area Banks Receive $6.5M in Tobacco Bond Proceed Deposits

Source from:  Business First of Columbus November 15, 2007 11/20/2007

Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray's move to place more than $200 million in proceeds from the state's tobacco bond sale into community banks has landed three Central Ohio institutions $6.5 million in deposits. Cordray deposited a total of $219.1 million at 31 banks around the state in amounts as high as $40 million and as low as $100,000. The total deposit represents about 4 percent of the $5.05 billion the state received when it securitized $5.46 billion in tobacco bonds. The bonds come from Ohio's portion of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement between cigarette makers and several states over smoking-related health-care costs. The majority of the funds went to finance school construction, while interest savings from the schools' debt-free financing are being kicked back to the state's expanded homestead exemption program. National City Bank, which holds the state's largest share of deposits, and Fifth Third Bank, which comes in second, each took in a $40 million certificate of deposit, while Charter One Bank and Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank also received $40 million each. The three Central Ohio-based institutions that received deposits were: Heartland Bank, Gahanna (12 area branches) - $5 million certificate of deposit at 4.35 percent interest Citizens Bank of Ashville (3 area branches) - $1 million certificate of deposit at 4.3 percent interest. Savings Bank, Circleville (5 area branches) - $500,000 certificate of deposit at 4.3 percent interest Enditem