Two weeks after being forced to relinquish his chairmanship, Robert J. Weatherbie has resigned as the chief executive officer of Team Financial Inc. in Paola, Kan.
Mr. Weatherbie resigned Monday from "all positions," including president and CEO of its TeamBank subsidiary, the company said Tuesday.
Directors are searching for Mr. Weatherbie's successor, the company said. Calls to Team Financial were not returned.
Mr. Weatherbie, 61, had been chairman and CEO of the $807 million-asset company until the Aug. 18 annual meeting, where shareholders voted to separate the positions and elected Connie Hart, the head of a strategic planning committee it formed in June, as Team's new chairman. Three other board seats were turned over to avoid a proxy contest that was being threatened by a former director who was backed by the company's largest independent shareholder.
Daniel Cardenas, an analyst with Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett Inc. in Chicago, said Mr. Weatherbie's resignation was only "a bit of a surprise" considering the company's recent performance and problems.
"It really isn't that unexpected given the regulatory scrutiny," Mr. Cardenas said. In the search for a new CEO, Team is likely seeking "somebody with a wealth of experience that can navigate" the company "through the current situation," he said.
In April the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency said Team and its two subsidiary banks were in "troubled condition."
The company infused the banks with $2 million of capital in May and announced the suspension of its dividend payments in June. In its second-quarter filings Team said it would likely need to raise more capital in the near term.
Mr. Weatherbie, who joined what was then Miami County National Bank in 1973, had been chairman and CEO of the holding company since 1995. The company has made six acquisitions since 1993, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and became publicly traded in 1999.
In a news release, Ms. Hart said: "We extend our gratitude to Bob for his contributions to the company and the communities we serve. Bob was instrumental in growing the company from a small, local bank into a regional, publicly traded institution."
Team's shares were trading at $4.09 late Tuesday, unchanged from Friday's closing price. They are down 73% for the year.
