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Higher costs offset revenue gains at Community Bank System (CBU) in Syracuse, N.Y., in the fourth quarter. Earnings at the $7.5 billion-asset company fell roughly 1% from a year earlier, to $18.8 million.
January 23
Community Bank System (CBU) in DeWitt, N.Y., is asking shareholders for authorization to issue more common stock.
The $7.5 billion-asset company has asked shareholder to approve increased authorized shares by 50%, to 75 million, according to a regulatory filing. Shareholders will vote on the measure at the company’s May 8 annual meeting.
Community Bank said the increase would give it more flexibility to raise capital, pay dividends, make acquisitions or compensate management "without the delay and expense associated with the holding of a special meeting of shareholders."
The filing also stated that the company currently has "no arrangements or understandings" that would require it to issue shares, though it "reviews and evaluates potential transactions, capital raising activities, and other corporate actions on an ongoing basis."
Community Bank, which has 184 branches in upstate New York and northeast Pennsylvania, had roughly 6.2 million shares available to issue as of Feb. 28, the filing said.
