Superior Bancorp Agrees to the Exchange of $7.5 Million Trust Preferred Securities for Common Stock
January 21 2010 - 5:26PM
PR Newswire (US)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Superior
Bancorp (NASDAQ:SUPR) today announced that it had secured
agreements from the holders of $7.5 million of its currently
outstanding non-pooled trust preferred securities to exchange those
securities for newly issued common stock. Jim White, CFO of
Superior Bancorp, said, "While Superior has always been 'well
capitalized,' we believe that the uncertain economic environment in
which we find ourselves warrants taking advantage of every
opportunity to strengthen our common equity. These current
transactions are the third step in a logical series of steps to
further improve our equity capital base. Our goal in this process
is to build a capital base at Superior that is unassailable, and
puts us in the position of being able to be a leader in the
recovery of the economy in both of our key markets - Florida and
Alabama." Superior expects to record a net after-tax gain of $1.8
million ($0.15/share) upon exchange of the trust preferred
securities. The ultimate effect of the transactions will be to
increase tangible common equity of the Company by approximately
$6.5 million, consisting of both the increase in equity upon
recording the gain, and the value of the newly issued shares. These
transactions follow a similar securities exchange completed in
December 2009 in which Superior exchanged newly issued trust
preferred securities for its preferred stock then held by the U.S.
Treasury, and realized a $22.4 million net gain in a unique
conversion that resulted in an increase in tangible book value of
approximately $1.90/share. Also, Superior earlier received
shareholder approval for an increase in authorized shares from 20
million to 200 million at a special shareholders' meeting held on
November 19, 2009. All of these activities have been undertaken by
Superior in a multi-phased program to increase its equity capital
base. At September 30, 2009, Superior Bank had capital ratios well
in excess of those necessary to maintain "well capitalized" status,
with a Total Risk Based Capital Ratio of 11.27%, and a Core Capital
Ratio of 8.32%. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods served as an advisor to
Superior Bancorp in this transaction. About Superior Bancorp
Superior Bancorp is a $3.2 billion thrift holding company
headquartered in Birmingham, and the second largest bank holding
company in Alabama. The principal subsidiary of Superior Bancorp is
Superior Bank, a southeastern community bank that currently has 73
branches, with 45 locations throughout the state of Alabama and 28
locations in Florida. Superior Bank also operates 24 consumer
finance offices in North Alabama as 1st Community Credit and
Superior Financial Services. The Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking
statements made by us or on our behalf. Some of the disclosures in
this release, including any statements preceded by, followed by or
which include the words "may," "could," "should," "will," "would,"
"hope," "might," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"intend," "plan," "assume," "goal" or similar expressions
constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements, implicitly and explicitly, include the assumptions
underlying the statements and other information with respect to our
beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations,
estimates, intentions, financial condition, results of operations,
future performance and business, including our expectations and
estimates with respect to our revenues, expenses, earnings, return
on equity, return on assets, efficiency ratio, asset quality, the
adequacy of our allowance for loan losses and other financial data
and capital and performance ratios. Although we believe that the
expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are
reasonable, these statements involve risks and uncertainties which
are subject to change based on various important factors (some of
which are beyond our control). Such forward looking statements
should, therefore, be considered in light of various important
factors set forth from time to time in our reports and registration
statements filed with the SEC. The following factors, among others,
could cause our financial performance to differ materially from our
goals, plans, objectives, intentions, expectations and other
forward-looking statements: (1) the strength of the United States
economy in general and the strength of the regional and local
economies in which we conduct operations; (2) the effects of, and
changes in, trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including
interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System; (3) inflation, interest rate, market and monetary
fluctuations; (4) our ability to successfully integrate the assets,
liabilities, customers, systems and management we acquire or merge
into our operations; (5) our timely development of new products and
services in a changing environment, including the features, pricing
and quality compared to the products and services of our
competitors; (6) the willingness of users to substitute
competitors' products and services for our products and services;
(7) the impact of changes in financial services policies, laws and
regulations, including laws, regulations and policies concerning
taxes, banking, securities and insurance, and the application
thereof by regulatory bodies; (8) our ability to resolve any legal
proceeding on acceptable terms and its effect on our financial
condition or results of operations; (9) technological changes; (10)
changes in consumer spending and savings habits; (11) the effect of
natural disasters, such as hurricanes, in our geographic markets;
(12) regulatory, legal or judicial proceedings; (13) the continuing
instability in the domestic and international capital markets; (14)
the effects of new and proposed laws relating to financial
institutions and credit transactions; and (15) the effects of
policy initiatives that have been and may continue to be introduced
by the new Presidential administration and related regulatory
actions. Superior Bancorp disclaims any intent or obligation to
update forward-looking statements. More information on Superior
Bancorp and its subsidiaries may be obtained over the Internet,
http://www.superiorbank.com/, or by calling 1-877-326-BANK (2265).
DATASOURCE: Superior Bancorp CONTACT: Jim White, Chief Financial
Officer, +1-205-327-3656 Web Site: http://www.superiorbank.com/
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