Polonia in Pa. Sells 2 Million Shares, Completes Conversion

Polonia Bancorp in Huntingdon Valley, Pa., has finished its stock offering and second-step conversion to a stock-owned company.

Polonia Bancorp became the holding company for the $258 million-asset Polonia Bank as a result, the company said Friday. Polonia sold roughly 2 million shares of common stock at $8 per share in the offering, it said. Its shares are scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol “PBCP” on Tuesday.

Under pressure from its largest shareholder to increase its capital base, Polonia announced in August its plan to convert to a stock-owned company. However, the conversion and offering hit some snags.

After receiving insufficient orders to complete the offering, Polonia in September said it would allow eligible depositors to almost double their orders. Last month, the company said it had postponed the stock sale and conversion after a regulatory exam revealed compliance problems. The examiners had identified “certain policy and procedural deficiencies” in connection with Polonia’s anti-money-laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance programs.

Separately, Meetinghouse Bancorp in Dorchester, Mass., expects to raise as much as $6.6 million as it converts from a mutual holding company to a fully stock-owned one.

The $74 million-asset company will sell up to 661,250 common shares for $10 per share in its initial public offering, which is expected to close next week, Meetinghouse Bancorp, the proposed holding company for Meetinghouse Bank, said Friday. 

The company’s common shares are expected to be quoted on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board beginning Nov. 20.