Green Bankshares Inc. in Greeneville, Tenn., said "no thanks" to a major shareholder's unsolicited offer to inject $25 million to $40 million of fresh capital into the company so it can buy failed banks.
Late Monday the company said it was happy with the capital levels it has and so rejected the offer from Scott M. Niswonger, who owns 9.94% of the $2.8 billion-asset Green. The proposed infusion would have raised his stake above the 10% maximum for any one shareholder set in the company's charter.
On Sept. 30, Green's bank subsidiary had a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 10.49%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 13.17%, and a total risk-based capital ratio of 14.43%.
In an Oct. 26 letter to the board, Niswonger said the infusion would help Green absorb losses from declining real estate values and position it for failed-bank deals.
The company's market capitalization was roughly $52 million on Tuesday.
In the third quarter, Green swung to a net loss of $7.7 million, from a $1.2 million profit a year earlier. The loss was attributed to higher credit costs and the $18.5 million provision the company took for loan losses. The provision was down 25% from the previous quarter but up almost 125% from a year earlier.
The ratio of nonperforming assets to total assets was 4.48%, up 272 basis points from a year earlier.
