The bad news continues to pile up for Federal Trust Corp. in Sanford, Fla.
The $637 million-asset thrift company, which is under a regulatory order to sell itself, said that its stock is about to be delisted, and that its chief financial officer is leaving to pursue other interests.
Federal Trust said late Monday that it would not appeal the delisting plan by the New York Stock Exchange Alternext U.S., which was known as the American Stock Exchange until last month.
The company said it would look for a market maker to quote its shares over the counter or through the pink sheets.
On Friday, Federal Trust announced that Gregory E. Smith, its CFO, submitted his resignation Sept. 29. The company said he intends to stay until Nov. 14 to give it time to find a successor.
But the timing calls into question the need for a successor.
Dennis T. Ward, Federal Trust's president and chief executive officer, would not say whether it has made any progress in finding a buyer or whether regulators might extend the Nov. 15 deadline for striking a deal.
Ken Thomas, the Miami consultant who operates the Web site Branchlocation.com, said regulators might be shopping Federal Trust to companies getting a cash infusion through the Treasury Department's Capital Purchase Program. "This is probably on the front plate of all the regulators," Mr. Thomas said. "They are probably looking at it wondering what they are going to do with it."
Federal Trust has been operating under a cease-and-desist order from the Office of Thrift Supervision for most of the year. In July the OTS told Federal Trust to raise sufficient capital by Sept. 30 or find a buyer by Nov. 15 — both were extensions on the initial deadlines the regulator had set.
The company has attracted interest, but two investor groups backed out of deals over the past few months, one on the eve of the OTS deadline to raise capital.
Mr. Ward said the exchange halted trading of Federal Trust's stock Sept. 30, after the company failed to meet the terms of the cease-and-desist order. Its share price, which has been under $1 since May, had sunk to 20 cents.
Mr. Thomas said its financial troubles, Mr. Smith's resignation, and the exit of two potential investors add up to "a lot of red flags" for Federal Trust. "It's hard to be optimistic about this institution."
