Bank of the Carolinas (BCAR) in Mocksville, N.C., has significantly increased its number of authorized shares at it looks to meet capital requirements tied to a regulatory order.
The $428 million-asset company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it had changed its articles of incorporation to raise the number of authorized stock to 580 million shares. Previously, the company had 15 million authorized shares.
Shareholders approved the increase last month. In its proxy filing seeking the increase, Bank of the Carolinas noted that its bank has been unable to satisfy capital requirements included in a consent order by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and its state banking commissioner. Having more shares available "would provide the company with maximum flexibility in increasing the capital levels of the company and the bank."
The company also created a new class of non-voting common stock. Such stock makes up 80 million of the 580 million shares of common stock it added from its increased authorization.
"In light of regulatory restrictions on ownership of bank holding companies, we anticipate that some potential investors may prefer the option of investing in non-voting common stock," the company said in its proxy filing earlier this year.
