A Chicago banking company that had been considering selling itself is off the block.
The $113 million-asset Royal Financial Inc. said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday that after a two-month review of its strategic options, its board determined that now is not the right time to pursue a sale.
"The pressures and uncertainties created by the ongoing global economic crisis that affect the rest of our industry have severely impacted Royal's ability to maximize stockholder value by means of a sale," James A. Fitch Jr., the chairman of both Royal Financial's board and the board of its thrift subsidiary, Royal Savings Bank, said in the SEC filing.
Royal, a former mutual thrift, became a public company in 2005. It has posted losses in each of its last two fiscal years. Its shares, which trade over the counter, closed at $5.50, down 67% from their 52-week high.
