EVB is out from under its written agreement with regulators. (Photo by Michael Schwartz)
Another local bank has shed a hefty burden.
EVB and its parent Eastern Virginia Bankshares were able to shake loose Thursday from a two-year-old written agreement with state and federal regulators in yet another sign that the $1 billion bank is back on track.
“This is huge news to get out from under the written agreement,” said Joe Shearin, EVB’s president and chief executive. “The really good part is the regulators are recognizing all the hard work and dedication we put into fixing the company. It’s kind of like their stamp of approval.”
Getting the blessing from the Federal Reserve to be released from the agreement makes EVB the second local financial institution to work its way out of that process, following Essex Bank in December.
Next on EVB’s list is buying its way out of TARP.
EVB received $24 million from the TARP Capital Purchase Program in 2009.
The written agreement has prevented the bank from paying dividends of any kind, including on its TARP shares, causing an extra $3 million due to the U.S. Treasury to accrue over the past two and half years.
Shearin said its TARP shares are expected to be put up for auction by the Treasury in the third or fourth quarter, a process that could give the bank a chance to buy them back at a discount.
“We want to pay it off. [The auction] is the best way to go,” he said.
The bank in June padded its war chest with $50 million in fresh capital, which gives it enough ammunition to exit TARP, dividends and all.
EVB became the fifth local bank to go under written agreement in February 2011. The contract was designed to force the bank to craft a clear plan to stave off losses fueled by a battered loan portfolio.
In addition to the successful capital raise, regulators set the Tappahannock-based bank free from the agreement thanks to several consecutive profitable quarters, a profitable 2012, and efforts to chip away at delinquent loans and foreclosed real estate, known as non-performing assets.
The bank’s non-performing assets figure stands at $9.7 million, according to EVB’s second quarter earnings. That’s down from $22.1 million a year ago and a peak of $39 million in 2010.
“We have a few more things to clean up, but overall our asset quality is strong and getting stronger,” Shearin said.
The bank reported a $273,000 profit in the second quarter and a $1 million profit through the first half of 2013. It finished 2012 with a $1.95 million profit, its largest annual profit since 2008.
EVB has 22 branches across the Richmond region, the Middle Peninsula, the Northern Neck and Western Tidewater.
Three of its local peers still remain under written agreement: Village Bank, Central Virginia Bank and Bank of Virginia.
EVB is out from under its written agreement with regulators. (Photo by Michael Schwartz)
Another local bank has shed a hefty burden.
EVB and its parent Eastern Virginia Bankshares were able to shake loose Thursday from a two-year-old written agreement with state and federal regulators in yet another sign that the $1 billion bank is back on track.
“This is huge news to get out from under the written agreement,” said Joe Shearin, EVB’s president and chief executive. “The really good part is the regulators are recognizing all the hard work and dedication we put into fixing the company. It’s kind of like their stamp of approval.”
Getting the blessing from the Federal Reserve to be released from the agreement makes EVB the second local financial institution to work its way out of that process, following Essex Bank in December.
Next on EVB’s list is buying its way out of TARP.
EVB received $24 million from the TARP Capital Purchase Program in 2009.
The written agreement has prevented the bank from paying dividends of any kind, including on its TARP shares, causing an extra $3 million due to the U.S. Treasury to accrue over the past two and half years.
Shearin said its TARP shares are expected to be put up for auction by the Treasury in the third or fourth quarter, a process that could give the bank a chance to buy them back at a discount.
“We want to pay it off. [The auction] is the best way to go,” he said.
The bank in June padded its war chest with $50 million in fresh capital, which gives it enough ammunition to exit TARP, dividends and all.
EVB became the fifth local bank to go under written agreement in February 2011. The contract was designed to force the bank to craft a clear plan to stave off losses fueled by a battered loan portfolio.
In addition to the successful capital raise, regulators set the Tappahannock-based bank free from the agreement thanks to several consecutive profitable quarters, a profitable 2012, and efforts to chip away at delinquent loans and foreclosed real estate, known as non-performing assets.
The bank’s non-performing assets figure stands at $9.7 million, according to EVB’s second quarter earnings. That’s down from $22.1 million a year ago and a peak of $39 million in 2010.
“We have a few more things to clean up, but overall our asset quality is strong and getting stronger,” Shearin said.
The bank reported a $273,000 profit in the second quarter and a $1 million profit through the first half of 2013. It finished 2012 with a $1.95 million profit, its largest annual profit since 2008.
EVB has 22 branches across the Richmond region, the Middle Peninsula, the Northern Neck and Western Tidewater.
Three of its local peers still remain under written agreement: Village Bank, Central Virginia Bank and Bank of Virginia.
CONGRATULATIONS to EVB! A Great Bank and glad to see they are moving forwards
I am proud to be an employee of such a great bank. In all my years in the Banking industry I have never worked for such a great institution, who knows how important each and every customer really is!!!!