Merger-Bound Roosevelt to Take Hit for Ending Rate Swaps

Roosevelt Financial Group Inc. said it would take a $52 million fourth-quarter charge after taxes as part of a balance sheet restructuring.

Roosevelt, which agreed two weeks ago to be acquired by Mercantile Bancorp. of St. Louis, said the charge is associated with its yearlong strategy to reduce its securities portfolio. The charge relates to termination of short-term borrowings tied to interest rate swaps.

The company has been trying to simplify the structure of its balance sheet, ending derivative agreements and funding consumer loans more from deposits than from government borrowings.

Stanley J. Bradshaw, chairman and chief executive of $9 billion-asset Roosevelt, said taking the charge in the fourth quarter would assure no drag on earnings in the next couple of quarters.

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