Green Bankshares Inc. in Greeneville, Tenn., is warning that it expects to report a fourth-quarter loss of up to $16 million because of deteriorating credit quality.
The company earned $2.7 million a year earlier.
In a press release issued late Tuesday, Stan Puckett, the chairman and chief executive officer of the $3 billion-asset company, attributed the projected loss to continued housing market weakness. Mr. Green said it would have to increase its provision for loan losses by about 160% from a year earlier, to an estimated $28 million to $30 million. Its nonperforming assets jumped about 110%, to a range of $75 million to $77 million, the company estimated. The surge came primarily in the residential real estate portfolio.
Green Bankshares said it expects to release its quarterly results about Jan. 22.
