User:Sammi Brie/UAB

Prelude to insolvency
The Knoxville bank reported a $2.3 million loss for 1982, while the Chattanooga bank reported a $1.3 million loss and saw its net worth decline despite acquiring another bank; neither of UAB's five Tennessee banks had lost money at all in the past.

In early February, rumors began to swirl around UAB at an increasing pace, and watchers noted with interest a suit UAB had filed against the FDIC that was revealed to be an attempt by the bank to forestall the FDIC from disclosing the results of its investigation. By February 12, potential buyers from Texas to New York were reported as interested in one or more of the UAB banks, while Butcher was reported to be in merger negotiations with First Tennessee and Wachovia. The bank took out a two-page ad in the News-Sentinel on February 13 seeking to head off what had been characterized as a "small run" on it and addressing rumors that, in its estimation, had "caused unnecessary concern and possibly an unfortunate loss of confidence in United American Bank", calling the events a "temporary economic setback" that the bank was capable of withstanding. By that day, merger talks for the Knoxville UAB had become focused on other in-state buyers.

Insolvency
Talks were held deep into the night in the offices of the Federal Reserve in Atlanta, and at midnight on February 14, First Tennessee pulled into the lead when Third National Corporation dropped out of the contest for UAB's assets. Tennessee and federal officials moved to close UAB–Knoxville at 7:30 a.m. on February 14, marking the fourth-largest failure of a commercial bank in U.S. history to that time. Butcher resigned as security was posted on all 11 floors of the tower, barring Butcher and members of the board of directors from entering. The next day, First Tennessee, having emerged as the high bidder after being given a chance to surpass a bid from an out-of-state bank, reopened UAB–Knoxville under its management; makeshift signs were placed on UAB's branches, and First Tennessee paid $70.5 million to assume its $795 million in assets and, unusually, $86.5 million of its credit losses.