The Nasdaq Stock Market will suspend the trading of Provident Community Bancshares Inc.'s common shares at the open of business on Thursday due to the company's failure to comply with certain listing rules.
The Rock Hill, S.C.-based company said Monday that the decision was based on rules that require companies to maintain a minimum bid price of $1 per share and a market value of the publicly held shares of at least $1 million.
The company's shares have been trading continuously below a dollar since mid-March and on Monday closed at 45 cents. As of Tuesday morning, its market capitalization was $805,680, according to Capital IQ.
Provident said that it does not intend to appeal the decision and that its common stock is expected to be listed on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board instead. The company said that it received notification of the decision Oct. 25
"We believe that having our shares quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board should not significantly impact the corporation or our common stock values going forward and will not have any impact on our ability to provide excellent service to our customers," Dwight V. Neese, president and chief executive, said in a press release. "Given the expense of maintaining a Nasdaq listing and the small number of shares we have outstanding, we think the OTC Bulletin Board will be a better fit for the company."
The company has roughly 1.8 million shares outstanding.
In May, the Federal Reserve Board announced that Provident Community Bancshares had agreed to be a source of strength for its $387 million-asset Provident Community Bank, which has been operating under a consent order with regulators since December. At June 30, nearly 11% of the bank's loans were no longer accruing interest or were at least 90 days past dues, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
