Shares of Cadence Financial Corp. in Starkville, Miss., fell Tuesday after the $2.1 billion-asset bank said that its first-quarter loss would be significantly higher than it previously estimated.
After taking a $66.8 million goodwill impairment charge, Cadence said it swung to a first-quarter loss of $84.5 million, or $7.09 a share, from a profit of $2.8 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier.
Cadence, which reported the revised results after the market closed Monday, had said April 21 that it expected the first-quarter loss to be $17.6 million, or $1.48 a share. But it cautioned at the time that it had yet to complete a review of its goodwill.
Cadence said it decided to eliminate all the goodwill on its balance sheet from previous acquisitions because of the continuing economic deterioration, the decline in its stock price and current deal values for comparable banks.
Though still well capitalized, the company said it would suspend its dividend to preserve capital.
Its stock fell 8.4% Tuesday, to close at $3.26 a share.
