U.S. regulators close W. Va bank; 12th to fail

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators closed on Friday Ameribank Inc, which became the 12th bank failure this year as the struggling economy and falling home prices take their toll on financial institutions.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said the Northfork, West Virginia-based bank had $115 million in assets and $102 million in deposits as of June 30. The failure is expected to cost the U.S. bank deposit insurance fund about $42 million.

Pioneer Community Bank Inc in Iaeger, West Virginia, and The Citizens Savings Bank in Martins Ferry, Ohio, entered into agreements to assume all the deposits and certain assets of Ameribank, which was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Customers can access their money over the weekend by check, teller machine or debit card, the FDIC said.

(Reporting by John Poirier; editing by Carol Bishopric)