The State Department of Financial Institutions closed Vancouver-based Bank of Clark County earlier today because of inadequate capital and liquidity. The move was announced at 6 p.m.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. immediately became the bank’s receiver and has announced that assets of the bank will be sold to Oregon-based Umpqua Bank.

"The loan portfolio deteriorated to the point where they could not continue,” said Scott Jarvis, head of DFI, following the announcement. “It’s our first in a long, long time. Washington State is not immune.”

Brad Williamson, DFI director of banks, said in a release, “This unfortunate event is the result of a combination of significant deterioration in loan portfolios and the overall economic instability we are experiencing in our country today.”

All FDIC-insured accounts at Bank of Clark County will be transferred to Umpqua Bank. Insured depositors of the defunct bank can access their funds by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Clients with accounts totaling over the 250,000 FDIC insurance limit may face review by an FDIC claim agent.

As of Jan. 13, Bank of Clark County - which counts a headquarters and one branch – had total assets of $446.5 million and total deposits of $366.5 million, according to DFI records. When it was closed, the bank had approximately $39.3 million in uninsured deposits held in accounts that may exceed insurance limits.

The closure was the first in the state since 1993, when officials closed Emerald City Bank of Seattle.

Asked if the closure portends announcements of further closures in Washington, Jarvis said, “We’re not out of the woods yet, but I think most of our banks are in good shape. We are watching our banks very closely. Most are well capitalized. We don't want to leave the impression that others are troubled.”

For more information, visit www.dfi.wa.gov.

If you think that flying with 400 others on a Boeing 747 is too much mass transportation for you, Air Austral, an airline based on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, has something for you to ponder.

The airline has placed orders for two super jumbo Airbus A380s, the world's largest passenger plane. But unlike most airlines, which equip the airliner with such amendities as showers and double beds in first class, the airline plans an all-economy aircraft.

Total seats? 840.

The airline says such capacity will help reduce airfares to an attractive level for the 11-hour flight between Paris and Reunion, a French territory.

The 39 mile-by-28 mile volcanic island depends largely on tourism for its prosperity.

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna announced today that the state has reached a settlement along with other states and the federal government with drug maker Eli Lilly.

The case involved allegations that Lilly marketed its anti-psychoitc drug Zyprexa for off-label uses.

The settlement will provide $3.5 millin each for the state's Medicaid program and for the state's general fund. Another $7 million awarded to state will go to reimburse the federal government to reimburse it for funds improperly distributed to the state's Medicaid recipients.

Washington's $14 millon was part of an $800 million nationwide settlement amount.

State and federal governments alleged Lilly between September 1999 and December 2005 promoted the sale and use of Zyprexa for uses that the Food and Drug administration had not approved.

The states and the federal government alleged that the company promoted the prescription of Zyprexa by primary care physicians for the unapproved treatment of depression, anxiety, irritability, disrupted sleep, nausea and gambling addictions. The company, states claimed, also provided payments to health care professionals.

Fujiya Japanese Restaurant, last vestige of Weyerhaeuser's ambitious early '80s Tacoma Center Market development, is searching for a new owner.

The sushi restaurant at 1125 Court C is being offered at $259,000, down from the original asking price of $319,000, said Thomas Kimura, listing agent for the restaurant.

Kimura said Fujiya owner Masahiro Endo wants to retire.

Fujiya was among two dozen merchants that were part of Cornerstone Development Co.'s Tacoma Center Market project that were housed in two buildings along Court C.

The market was part of the larger Tacoma Center project that included the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel (now the Hotel Murano), the Financial Center tower, the rehabilitation of the old Sears downtown department store and the Tacoma Center YMCA.

The market project died when Cornerstone, a Weyerhaeuser subsidiary, sold the market building, but merchants leasing space neighboring space remained.

Boeing today said that its Wichita aerospace unit, which manufactures parts and modifies aircraft for Boeing's defense division, is not being sold.

The issue of the Wichita unit's possible sale was raised by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which represents some 700 engineers working at the facility.

SPEEA sought that information after European aerospace giant EADS disclosed this week that it had been considering purchase of a large North American aerospace facility.

EADS is parent company of Boeing rival Airbus.

SPEEA and Boeing are involved in negotiations over a new contract for those engineers.

Boeing has submitted what it calls its "best and final offer" to the union, but the union is seeking more information from the company before concluding its negotiations with the company.

Reed Jones, former deputy executive director of the Port of Tacoma, has died.

Jones, who retired from the port in 1983, was 87 when he passed away Jan. 7.

Jones joined the port staff in 1952 as sales manager. When he began his job, the port had no regular steamship customers. When he retired, the port was becoming one of the nation's largest container ports.

"Reed Jone lived and breathed the shipping and transportation industry," said port commissioner Clare Petrich. "There was nobody more dedicated to the success of the Port of Tacoma than Reed. He will be deeply missed."

Memorial services for Jones are set for 1 p.m. Jan. 24 at St. Luke's Memorial Church, 3615 N. Gove St., Tacoma.

Private investors buying Bellevue-based Puget Energy expect to close the deal by Feb. 6, they announced today.

Puget Holdings LLC, a group of investors, many of them from Canada, will pay $7.4 billion for the untility which serves a million electric and 750,000 natural gas customers in Western Washington including much of Pierce County.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approved the takeover late last year in a 2-1 vote. The Attorney General's office had opposed the move saying the new ownership didn't offer enough benefits to consumers.

The utility will remain headquartered in Bellevue, and the existing executive corps will continue running the operation.

The PSE board will have a Tacoma connection. Herb Simon, Tacoma investor and real estate developer, will be a board member.