HMN Financial Inc. in Rochester, Minn., said it plans to defer paying the next dividend it owes the Treasury Department.
The $880 million-asset company said late Wednesday that it would not pay the $325,000 dividend due in February on $26 million of preferred stock sold under the Troubled Asset Relief Program because it must conserve cash at the holding company.
HMN's Home Federal Savings Bank has an informal agreement with the Office of Thrift Supervision barring it from paying dividends without regulatory consent.
The company also reported a $9.9 million fourth-quarter loss, compared with a $100,000 profit a year earlier. The loss was largely due to a $10.5 million loan-loss provision.
