July 10, 2012
To whom it may concern:
Reference is made to the JOBS Act legislation, along with the entire process, including the SEC's comment period in connection with new legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. In May of 2012, LNB Bancorp, Inc.'s $5.0 million Regulation A common stock rights offering was declared effective by FINRA and the SEC. LNB Bancorp is the holding company for a successful $600 million community bank, Lyons National Bank, whose headquarters is in the small Erie Canal town of Lyons, New York. The offering was oversubscribed, with purchase interest of approximately $13 million. The SEC personnel declined to permit the issuer to increase the offering size over the $5.0 million level, indicating new regulations would be drafted, comments accepted, and after reviewing them, would then publish binding provisions to comply with the JOBS Act's terms. The SEC expects such a process to require five or six months.
The undersigned believes a timely and substantial opportunity to increase employment and augment economic development in the upstate New York markets which are home to LNB and its subsidiary, Lyons National Bank by providing additional capital to a community bank was missed due to bureaucratic machinations.
LNB had already complied with a full review of its offering circular by the SEC and FINRA and was amendable to allowing participating investors the right of rescission for their purchase interests in the event the investor felt too much capital was being raised. Despite this willingness, neither LNB nor some other authority had any remedy to expedite the approval of an increased amount of capital being raised while the cumbersome SEC process was undertaken for the JOBS Act legislation.
The undersigned strongly recommends that future legislation provide or require expedited review or some form of relief mechanism to allow for the basic intent of the legislation pertaining to economic stimulus to be accommodated in more market sensitive timeframes.
Sincerely,
Arthur L. Loomis, II
President