Blackhawk Bancorp Announces It Will Exit TARP Program Following
Successful Auction by the U.S. Treasury
BELOIT, Wis., Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackhawk
Bancorp, Inc. (OTCBB: BHWB) today announced that it
will be exiting the TARP program upon the closing of the U.S.
Treasury's auction of its preferred stock. The transaction is
expected to close on or about October 31,
2012. In the transaction, the U.S. Treasury sold
10,000 shares of Blackhawk Bancorp's Fixed Rate Cumulative
Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series B for $910.00 per share and 500 shares of Blackhawk
Bancorp's Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series C
for $950.00 per share.
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In March of 2009 the company received $10
million in capital under the U.S. Treasury's voluntary
Capital Purchase Program, a part of the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act of 2008, which was designed to provide capital to
healthy financial institutions to promote confidence and
stabilization in the economy. "The program worked for us"
said Rick Bastian, president &
CEO. "It helped a healthy bank like Blackhawk enhance its
capital levels giving us the confidence to keep lending when it was
most needed by our markets," he added. Blackhawk has
grown its loan portfolio by $32.5
million, or 10%, from March 31,
2009, the quarter it received the investment, to
September 30, 2012.
In addition to the $9,575,000 in
proceeds the Treasury will receive on the sale of the securities,
they also received $1,930,000 in cash
dividends, for a total of $11,505,000
on their initial $10,000,000
investment. To date, the Treasury has recovered $267 billion from TARP's bank programs through
repayments, dividends, interest, and other income compared to the
$245 billion initially invested.
"This was a win-win, said Bastian, "Our communities won with
available lending and taxpayers won with a good return on their
investment. Further, our performance over this period made
our securities attractive to private investors. The TARP
program has been a success for assisting healthy banks."
About Blackhawk Bancorp
Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc. is headquartered in Beloit, Wisconsin and is the parent company of
Blackhawk Bank, which operates eight
banking centers in south central Wisconsin and north central Illinois, along the I-90 corridor from
Belvidere, Illinois to
Beloit, Wisconsin.
Blackhawk's locations serve individuals and small businesses,
primarily with fewer than 200 employees. The company offers a
variety of value-added consultative services to small businesses
and their employees related to its banking products such as health
savings accounts and investment management.
Forward-Looking Statements
When used in this communication, the words "believes,"
"expects," and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. The company's actual results may differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
Factors which could cause such a variance to occur include, but are
not limited to: heightened competition; adverse state and federal
regulation; failure to obtain new or retain existing customers;
ability to attract and retain key executives and personnel; changes
in interest rates; unanticipated changes in industry trends;
unanticipated changes in credit quality and risk factors, including
general economic conditions; success in gaining regulatory
approvals when required; changes in the Federal Reserve Board
monetary policies; unexpected outcomes of new and existing
litigation in which Blackhawk or its subsidiaries, officers,
directors or employees is named defendants; technological changes;
changes in accounting principles generally accepted in the United States; changes in assumptions or
conditions affecting the application of "critical accounting
policies"; and the inability of third party vendors to perform
critical services for the company or its customers.
Further information is available on the Company's website at
www.blackhawkbank.com.
SOURCE Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc.