Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Citizens Bank stock tanks

The stock performance of Citizens Republic Bancorp (CRBC) over the past five years reflects the troubled state of the overall banking system.


Flint's Citizens Bank is struggling.

Its stock, which was trading at more than $25/share at the beginning of the year, is barely north of $2, a victim of the the "deterioration in commercial real estate collateral values and continued challenges to the Midwest economy," according to a company statement.

Earlier this month, Dan Meisler of the Ann Arbor Business Review reported:

"Flint-based Citizens Republic Bancorp announced [June 5] a public offering of $200 million in securities to boost its capital position.

"That comes as the bank reports a $180 million "goodwill impairment" charge related to falling commercial real estate values, and a $47.1 million write-down on nonperforming commercial real estate and residential loans and repossessed assets.

"The bank said in its announcement that the additional capital from the stock offerings will help it 'remain focused on executing its strategic objectives and delivering long-term shareholder value as current economic and credit conditions improve.'"




2 comments:

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