Gold Coast on Long Island Readies $15M Stock Offering

Gold Coast Bank in Islandia, N.Y., is beginning its second round of financing after announcing that its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled.

The $202 million-asset bank said Tuesday that it received approval to increase its capital stock by nearly two million shares and that it is seeking to raise $15 million in a private offering. Gold Coast expects to open the offering to existing shareholders at the beginning of March, according to President and Chief Executive Joseph Perri.

Founded in 2008, Gold Coast has five offices, all on Long Island. Perri said proceeds from the offering would help to raise the bank's legal lending limit.

"There have been opportunities over the past year and a half that we've had to forgo due to our legal lending limit, so the offering will essentially allow us to take care of our good customers from a lending standpoint," Perri said. "That's important because we have a tremendous amount of liquidity."

The stock offering will raise the bank's net worth to around $35 million, Perri said.

Gold Coast earned $920,000 in the fourth quarter of 2012, a 111% increase over the fourth quarter of 2011, due primarily due to growth in the bank's loan portfolio. Its fourth-quarter net interest income grew 28% compared to the year-prior period, to $1.3 million, though its net interest margin fell 18 basis points, to 3.49%.

"Our style of banking is that of being a true community bank, where senior management gets involved very heavily with the customers," Perri said. "We don't get involved in complicated sources of revenue; basically, we lend to good people and watch our expenses."

The bank also benefited from its loan-referral program and from community-based promotions, Perri said. The bank offers free use of its conference rooms to community groups, and hosts openings of local artist at its branches.