Surety Capital Corp. in Fort Worth has filed for bankruptcy protection to clear a path for a sale of the company, according to a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The $36 million-asset parent of Surety Bank sought protection so that it could sell itself without shareholder opposition.
In October 2006 Surety announced an agreement to be sold to Pax Holdings Inc. of Southlake, Tex. But the deal was called off in May of this year after Surety failed to obtain shareholder approval.
John Mackey, Surety Bank's president and chief executive, said in a Dec. 21 press release that the bankruptcy filing, in U.S. District Court for the North District of Texas, "will not impact the day-to-day operations of the bank."
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reported on the bankruptcy filing Tuesday. It said an unidentified Texas bank has offered to acquire Surety for $3 million more than its $5.5 million to $6 million book value.
In June the Office of the Comptroller of Currency barred Surety Capital chairman and CEO Richard Abrams from the banking industry for engaging in "unsafe and unsound banking practices." But the Federal Reserve Board reinstated Mr. Abrams a couple of days later and gave him until Oct. 1 to find a buyer for Surety. He resigned in October.
