BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said it is considering raising capital.
The $5.7 billion-asset company might issue class A common stock, debt, preferred stock, and warrants, in case it needs to boost capital at its banking unit to satisfy higher capital requirements the Office of Thrift Supervision might impose. The unit is well capitalized but has struggled with losses on bad construction loans made in south Florida. Issuing common stock would be "highly dilutive" to shareholders, BankAtlantic said this week in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. BankAtlantic's stock topped $2 a share Wednesday. It had not been above that level since Feb. 11 and hit a 52-week low of 66 cents a few weeks ago.
The company cautioned a capital-raising effort might be unsuccessful. "The ongoing liquidity crisis and the loss of confidence in financial institutions may make it more difficult or more costly to obtain financing," its filing said.
BankAtlantic did not say how much capital it might seek. At the end of 2008 its total risk-based capital ratio was 11.63% and its Tier 1 risk-based capital was 9.8%. The company has applied for capital through the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program, but said it has not heard about the status of the application.
In its filing, BankAtlantic also revised its full-year loss, for the better. It adjusted the loss to $202.6 million, or $18.05 per share, citing lower expenses. Last month its preliminary results showed a loss of $205.5 million, or $18.30 per share.
Nonperforming assets made up 4% of the company's total as of Dec. 31, versus 3.21% a year earlier.
