Independence Bancshares in S.C. Has New CEO, Raises $14M

Independence Bancshares (IEBS) in Greenville, S.C., has $14.1 million in new capital and freshly minted chief executive.

The company said in a regulatory filing Monday that it sold about 17.6 million shares of common stock in a private placement that involved 13 buyers. The company said it sold the stock to improve capital levels at its bank and to finance opportunities in banking, consumer finance, payments and mobile banking. Independence National Bank is operating under a consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Separately, the company said that Gordon Baird had succeeded Lawrence Miller as its president and CEO. Miller, who remains that president and CEO of the $110 million-asset Independence National Bank, had led the company since its founding in 2005.

Baird previous worked at private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners. A former banker, Baird has also worked at John Hancock Real Estate Finance, State Street (STT) and a unit of Citigroup (NYSE: C).

Miller was among those who participated in the private placement, buying 75,000 shares at 80 cents each. He now owns 87,500 shares, the filing said.