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Eight Florida bank-holding companies failed to make a scheduled Feb. 15 dividend payment on preferred stock owned by the government as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Three of those banks are now at least a full year behind in payments, documents released by the U.S. Treasury show.
The eight banks that deferred payments last month are the same eight that missed a payment due in November.
When the federal government approved TARP, the U.S. Treasury disbursed equity capital to several struggling banks across the country by purchasing shares of each bank's preferred stock. The value of those shares will not change over time, but banks will owe an annual dividend payment to the Treasury until the shares are bought back.
Once a bank misses six scheduled dividend payments, the Treasury obtains the right to elect two directors to that bank's board. In Florida, only Seacoast Banking Corp. has missed at least six payments; Seacoast, which manages $2 billion in assets, owes $5 million to the Treasury. So far the Treasury has not yet appointed its own directors, but it has sent representatives to board meetings.
The banks are listed below with the total value of their noncurrent dividends, along with the total number of quarters for which payments have been deferred:
• First Community Bank Corp. of America — $400,700 (3)
• Florida Bank Group Inc. — $557,900 (2)
• FPB Bancorp Inc. — $362,500 (5)
• Marine Bank & Trust Co. ¬— $81,800 (2)
• Pinnacle Bank Holding Co. — $179,400 (3)
• Premier Bank Holding Co. — $517,800 (4)
• Regent Bancorp Inc. — $272,000 (2)
• Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida — $5 million (8)
Source: SNL Financial
The eight delinquent banks originally borrowed roughly $103 million in TARP funds, according to the Wall Street Journal. Overall, 18 Florida banks received $223 million in TARP money.
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