I read with regret about the closing of Ideal Federal Savings Bank, one of two banks closed by the FDIC ("Regulators shut Bay National, Ideal banks," July 10).

Bay National, the other bank, had assets of about $282.2 million and deposits of $276.1 million. Ideal Federal's assets were listed at $6.3 million, with deposits of $5.8 million. The number of people employed at Bay National's two branches wasn't given. Ideal had two employees at its single branch. One was its president, Yvonne Lansey.

These two financial institutions were quite different. FDIC closure was their commonality.

The article delineates the different reasons for their respective fates. According to Stuart Greenberg, a private banker based in Baltimore, Bay National "…got greedy…got stupid,…got arrogant." Bay National also got another opportunity. It was bought by Bay Bank.

Ideal's fate is far more final. No buyer was found to sustain it and continue a creditable legacy begun 90 years ago in response to a "lack of opportunity" for Negroes to secure mortgages from white institutions that would not lend to them.

I lament the closing of this historic institution and wonder whether some nontraditional, extraordinary effort could have been made to save it, if the general public had known more earlier.

Ideal was provincial and very localized. It will be remembered and missed by those who used its services as their most available option. I hope it will be remembered by those who had other options, but recognize its historical significance and will share it regularly with young people who need to know the contributions made, the services provided, the pride instilled and the example set by the Lansey family, who for 90 years, through three generations, consistently and quietly, met a community's need.

The community has changed. In this age of electronic banking and ATM's, banking needs can be readily met. Yet, there are needs within the community Ideal Savings Bank served that may well go unmet .

Maxine Wood, Baltimore