MIAMI After months of discussions with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Hamilton Bancorp has restated its earnings for 1999 and the first nine months of last year.
An adjustment in provisions for allocated transfer risk reserves caused the 1999 yearend results for the $1.75 billion-asset company to change from a profit of $18.4 million to a loss of $2.2 million.
The restatement also pushed down earnings for the first quarter of last year by 35.7%, to $5.4 million, and for the second quarter 6.6%, to $7.1 million. And the company said it lost $17.9 million in the third quarter, 23.4% more than previously reported.
The new risk reserves account for 90% of the value of loans Hamilton made in Ecuador, as recommended by regulators. It had originally reported a risk reserve of about 30% of its loans in Ecuador, which Carlos Bernace, Hamilton Banks president, said then was more than enough. However, in its regulatory call reports it reported much higher provisions.
Because of the dispute with the SEC, Hamilton has yet to file its fourth-quarter 2000 and first-quarter 2001 earnings, but said it expects to do so shortly.
