Shareholders' Equity Transactions

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Shareholders Equity Transactions [Abstract]

Shareholders Equity Transactions

Note 14 – Shareholders' Equity Transactions

Small Business Lending Fund

On September 1, 2011, the Company completed the sale of $63.5 million of Series B Preferred Stock to the Secretary of the Treasury under the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF). The fund was established under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 that was created to encourage lending to small businesses by providing capital to qualified community banks with assets less than $10 billion.

Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, the Treasury received 63,500 shares of non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock with a liquidation value of $1,000 per share, in exchange for $63.5 million.

The Series B Preferred Stock qualifies as Tier 1 capital. The dividend rate, as a percentage of the liquidation amount, fluctuated on a quarterly basis during the first 10 quarters during which the Series B Preferred Stock was outstanding, based upon changes in the level of “Qualified Small Business Lending” or “QSBL”. For the first nine quarters after issuance, the dividend rate could range from one percent (1%) to five percent (5%) per annum based upon the increase in QSBL as compared to the baseline. For the tenth calendar quarter through four and one half years after issuance (the “temporary fixed rate period”), the dividend rate will be fixed at between one percent (1%) and seven percent (7%) based upon the level of QSBL compared to the baseline. After four and one half years from the issuance, the dividend rate will increase to nine percent (9%). For quarters subsequent to the issuance in 2011, the Company was able to continually increase its level of small business lending and as a result, the dividend rate has steadily decreased from 5.0% in 2011 to 1.0% in early 2013. The Company is now in the “temporary fixed rate period,” in which the dividend rate is fixed for the Company at 1%. Unless redeemed, this rate will increase to 9% after four and one half years from the stock issuance, which is March 2016 for the Company. Subject to regulatory approval, the Company is generally permitted to redeem the Series B Preferred Shares at par plus unpaid dividends.

For each of the first three months of 2015 and 2014, the Company accrued approximately $159,000in preferred dividend payments for the Series B Preferred Stock. This amount is deducted from net income in computing “Net income available to common shareholders.”

Stock Issuance

On December21, 2012, the Company issued 2,656,294 shares of its common stock and 728,706 shares of the Company's Series C Preferred Stock to certain accredited investors, each at the price of $10.00 per share, pursuant to a private placement transaction. Net proceeds from this sale of common and preferred stock were $33.8 million and were used to strengthen and remove risk from the Company's balance sheet in anticipation of a planned disposition of certain classified loans and write-down of foreclosed real estate.

The Series C Preferred Stock qualifies as Tier 1 capital and is Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock, with dividend rights equal to the Company's Common Stock. Each share of Series C Preferred Stock will automatically convert into one share of Common Stock on the date the holder of Series C Preferred Stock transfers any shares of Series C Preferred Stock to a non-affiliate of the holder in certain permissible transfers. The Series C Preferred Stock is non-voting, except in limited circumstances.

The Series C Preferred Stock pays a dividend per share equal to that of the Company's common stock. During each of the first quarters of 2015 and 2014, the Company accrued approximately $58,000 in preferred dividend payments for the Series C Preferred Stock.