Guaranty Bancorp in Denver said Tuesday that it lost $265.8 million in the third quarter, or $5.21 per share, as it wrote off the remainder of its goodwill and beefed up loan-loss reserves.
The $2 billion-asset company earned $1.5 million, or three cents per share, in last year's third quarter.
The loss was driven largely by a $250.7 million goodwill impairment charge related to acquisitions the company made in the last five years. The charge wiped out any remaining goodwill and came after a $142.2 million charge in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The company also set aside $30.8 million for loan losses, as ever more construction loans soured.
In the quarter, nonperforming loans totaled $56.1 million, an increase of 177% from a year earlier, while chargeoffs totaled $12.5 million, down 36% from a year earlier but up more than 3,000% from the second quarter.
Guaranty's primary investor is Castle Creek Capital LLC, a Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., firm known for rolling up smaller banks.
PacWest Bancorp in San Diego, another Castle Creek-owned entity, with $4.9 billion of assets and a similar history of acquisitions, has also been hit hard with goodwill impairment charges. In the first half of 2008, it wrote off $761.7 million of acquisition-related goodwill.
Guaranty made two other noteworthy announcements Tuesday. It said that Hank Brown, a former U.S. senator from Colorado, had joined its board of directors and that it intends to apply to the Treasury Department to participate in its Capital Purchase Program. Guaranty said it would be eligible for up to $59 million.
