State and federal bank regulators have closed a Westmont bank due to heavy investments in the weak real estate market that cut into its earnings — but clients’ money is safe.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials announced the bank has been sold to another bank, and business will go on as usual.

The FDIC announced Friday, Oct. 23, the First DuPage Bank of Westmont had been closed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The bank, 520 N. Cass Ave., reopened Saturday, Oct. 24, as a branch of First Midwest Bank of Itasca, as part of a FDIC purchase and assumption agreement, according to Greg Hernandez, a spokesman for the FDIC.

The Westmont location was the only branch of First DuPage Bank.

Customers who have accounts or loans with First DuPage Bank will now be customers of FirstMidwest Bank and will not have to transfer any money or make changes to how they bank at the location. They can continue to write checks, pay loans or use their First DuPage Bank ATM cards as they normally would, Hernandez said.

“All customers will basically notice is the bank has a new name,” Hernandez said.

In a press release announcing the bank takeover, Michael L. Scudder, president and chief executive officer of First Midwest, assured that all the business affairs and deposits of First DuPage Bank customers are safe.

“Although we’re new to Westmont, First Midwest has long been the community bank of choice for more than one quarter million families and 25,000 thousand businesses in the greater Chicagoland area through our network of nearly 100 banking locations,” Scudder said.

Brian O’ Meara, executive vice president for marketing for First Midwest Bank, could not be reached for comment as of publication time.

First DuPage Bank had about $230 million in deposits and $240 million in loans as of July 31, 2009. First Midwest Bank agreed to assume all of the deposits, and agreed to purchase about $260 million in assets at a discount of $32 million, according to First DuPage. The FDIC retains the remaining assets for later disposition.

First Midwest Bank entered into a loss-share transaction with the FDIC providing First Midwest Bank with protection from the FDIC for loan losses, according to the FDIC.

Hernandez declined to say how much the bank had lost but indicated its huge concentration in the real estate market cut into the bank’s earnings.

“First DuPage was put on an FDIC watch list last June,” Hernandez said. “This information is not made public, and customers are not notified when this happens.”

First DuPage Bank is the 106th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the 17th in Illinois. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Corus Bank, of Chicago, on Sept. 11, according to the FDIC.

Customers who have questions can contact the FDIC toll-free at (800) 450-5417.