In Brief: Cole Taylor Delays Split of Bank, Finance Unit

The decoupling of Cole Taylor Bank from its sister auto finance company has been postponed until the middle of January.

The bank was to have been spun off by the end of the year from the holding company, Cole Taylor Financial Group, which was to have retained the finance company. But a paperwork logjam has slowed the process.

"There's a heckuva lot of clerical work to do," said Philip Worley, vice president of communications for Cole Taylor. "We were a little overly optimistic."

The split has been approved by regulators, and shareholders approved it Nov. 15.

The decision to break into two companies was made in June, after months of feuding between the founding Cole and Taylor families.

The suburban Chicago bank is to be sold to an investment group led by chairman Jeffrey Taylor, president Bruce Taylor, and co-founder and director Sidney Taylor.

The holding company would change its name to Reliance Acceptance Group Inc.

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