Two independent advisory firms are backing Team Financial Inc.'s proposed slate of directors over one proposed by a former director who is trying to regain his board seat at the two-bank Paola, Kan., holding company.
Team announced Wednesday that Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass-Lewis & Co. have recommended that shareholders vote for its nominees at Tuesday's annual meeting.
The $847 million-asset company is facing a proxy contest from former director Keith Edquist, who resigned from its board May 20. He has nominated himself and two others for board seats, saying in regulatory filings that his actions have been motivated by "excessive executive compensation."
On April 24 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency notified Team Financial that it was in "troubled condition" because of its "deficiencies" in credit administration practices, risk rating systems, and levels of classified assets. It lost $6.4 million in the first quarter and its $2.5 million loan-loss provision was more than 10 times the provision taken a year earlier.
In May Team infused its two bank subsidiaries with $2 million of capital. Despite the trouble, Team said that both independent proxy reports said that Mr. Edquist lacks a plan for improvement and that its executive compensation is in line with its peers.
