Sterling Savings Bank, of Spokane, has filed suit in Spokane County Superior Court to collect $6 million plus interest and costs from Clark County Bancorporation, of Vancouver, Wash., which was closed by regulators Jan. 16, and perhaps from executives of that company or its subsidiary bank.

Sterling says in the action that it lent $6 million to the bank-holding company on Jan. 30, 2008, under the terms of a 2005 business loan agreement, and that the loan, which had a maturity date of Dec. 30, 2008, is due and payable with interest accrued at a rate of 10.5 percent.

"It is a virtual certainty that Clark County Bancorporation lacks any assets to pay its debts to Sterling," says the complaint.

The suit alleges that three unnamed corporate officers of Clark County Bancorporation executed the note. In a section titled "the cover-up and misrepresentations," the suit claims that "one or more officers or directors or employees" of the company or the Bank of Clark County, which it owned, "intentionally and actively concealed and misrepresented on numerous occasions, to Sterling Savings Bank the financial condition of" Bank of Clark County and its parent. "They acted in this manner with the intent that Sterling Savings Bank would rely on these misrepresentations and Sterling Savings Bank did rely to its detriment." The suit says Sterling is entitled to recover from those individuals "such sums as it proves at trial could have been awarded (to it) but for the wrongful acts of the defendants."

Umpqua Holdings Corp., of Portland, which owns Umpqua Bank, said Jan. 20 that the Washington state Department of Financial Institutions had closed the Bank of Clark County, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. had been named receiver of the institution.

The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Umpqua Bank to assume certain deposits of the Vancouver bank, Umpqua Holdings said. It also said the Bank of Clark County's two branches, both of which were located in Vancouver, began operating under the Umpqua Bank name Jan. 20.

"As you can imagine, we are disappointed to see a community bank in our region fail," Ray Davis, Umpqua Holdings CEO, said in the announcement. Umpqua said that under an agreement with the FDIC, it is assuming $186 million in deposits, but paid no premium for them. It said the deal would increase Umpqua's assets to approximately $8.6 billion.

Guy Michelson, managing partner of the Seattle law firm Corr Cronin Michelson Baumgardner & Preece LLP, which is representing Clark County Bancorporation, says the firm would have no comment on the action.

Sterling's attorney, Jeff Supinger, of Witherspoon Kelley Davenport & Toole PS, of Spokane, says Sterling can't seek to recover money from Umpqua Bank.