Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. cannot pay dividends without prior approval from regulators and must bolster its board oversight under an enforcement action the Federal Reserve filed Friday.
Premier, of Huntington, W.Va., also controls Consolidated Bank and Trust Co. of Richmond, and Abigail Adams National Bancorp in Washington.
Premier, which has assets of $1 billion, acquired the Washington bank in October 2009, according to the Abigail Adams website.
Under the agreement with the Fed, Premier must develop a plan to strengthen board oversight and improve its earnings and budget for the rest of the year, among other things.
The Fed must sign off before dividends can be paid.
