CHICAGO -- Harris Bankcorp has asked regulators to let it continue holding a 22.6% stake in City Bankshares, the parent of City Bank and Trust Co. in Oklahoma City.
Harris, which picked up the investment after the Oklahoma bank defaulted on a loan five years ago, hopes to eventually sell the stake.
A spokesman for Harris Bank, which is wholly owned by Bank of Montreal, said the filing to extend the holding was routine. He added that Harris has no intention of expanding its stake in City Bank, which has $70 million of assets.
The market value of the stock held by Harris is about $400,000 short of the $2 million the company hopes to recover, officials said.
"The market is so thin that we haven't been able to sell it," said Paul Skubic, controller for Harris Bank. "We don't want to be forced to sell it for a fire-sale price."
