After MB Financial Bank reopened branches of the failed Benchmark Bank on Saturday, it announced Tuesday it would be closing three of the five former Benchmark branches.

Branches in Ransom, Verona and Aurora will be closing in 30 to 60 days. Seneca and St. Charles branches will remain open.

"Within the next 30 to 60 days we will be consolidating the Benchmark Bank Ransom and Verona branches and merging them into the Seneca branch," said Karen A. Perlman, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of MB Financial Bank. "MB branches need to be a certain scale to run efficiently in the MB network. By consolidating offices our goal is to create a branch that will meet the needs of all three communities.

"(Verona, Ransom and Aurora customers) can continue to bank as usual right now."

All branches of Benchmark Bank were closed Friday by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and were reopened Saturday as branches of MB.

The police were present Friday when the bank was closed.

"Officers were at the banks for assisting the federal government. They just provided extra security," said Lt. William Evans of the La Salle County Sheriff's Office.

In an Oct. 5 cease and desist document, the FDIC ordered the bank to stop operating with management whose polices and practices are detrimental to the bank, an inadequate level of capital protection for the kind and quality of assets held, in a matter which has resulted in inadequate earnings, to stop engaging in hazardous lending and lax collection practices, an excessive level of adversely classified assets, delinquent loans and non-accrual loans, among other things.

The letter then gave instructions on how to get back on track, such as operating in a safe and sound matter and complying with all applicable laws and regulations.

"It had a lot to do with real estate lending," Perlman said as to why Benchmark failed.