Shares of Dearborn Bancorp Inc. in Michigan fell to a 52-week low Wednesday after the $1 billion-asset company reported a third-quarter loss.
The parent of Fidelity Bank announced late Tuesday that it lost $855,000 in the quarter, compared with a profit of $1.57 million a year earlier. Its earnings for the first three quarters of this year dropped more than 50%, to $2.8 million.
Michael J. Ross, Dearborn's chief executive, attributed the loss to "Michigan's one-state recession" and the collapse of the housing market in the southeastern part of the state.
Though Fidelity Bank has no exposure to troubled subprime mortgages, a number of its residential construction borrowers have not been able to sell their homes, and the collateral backing their loans is now worth less than the amount they originally borrowed, Dearborn said.
By midday Wednesday its shares had dropped 3.6% from Tuesday's close, to $11.63. The stock has dropped about 39% since the beginning of the year.
