Two executives of Commerce Bancorp Inc. of Cherry Hill, N.J., were found guilty Monday of conspiracy in a corruption case in Philadelphia.
Glenn K. Holck, the president of Commerce Bank, and Stephen M. Umbrell, a regional vice president, were indicted in June on conspiracy charges and nine counts of wire and mail fraud.
After 19 days of deliberation, the jury found the two guilty on the main conspiracy charge as well as two counts of wire fraud, according to Bloomberg News.
U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan alleged that Mr. Holck and Mr. Umbrell facilitated favorable loans to Corey Kemp, then Philadelphia's treasurer, in exchange for a line of credit for the city.
In all, 12 individuals were indicted in the case, including Mr. Kemp, who was also found guilty Monday, and Ronald A. White, an attorney and former Commerce director, who died this year.
Two former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executives, Charles LeCroy and Anthony C. Snell, pleaded guilty in January. Denis Carlson of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC was found not guilty in February. The remaining defendants were found guilty of at least one charge.
Executives at Commerce have repeatedly maintained Mr. Holck and Mr. Umbrell's innocence; it kept them on staff and paid their legal fees. Vernon W. Hill 2d, Commerce's chairman, president, and chief executive, insisted that the loans were normal business practice.
That was also the stance of the defendants' counsel. Mr. Umbrell was represented by Larry Lustberg of Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione PC, and Mr. Holck by Kevin Marino, who runs his own law firm in Newark, N.J.
Commerce itself was never charged. A spokesman for the company refused to discuss the matter or confirm whether Mr. Holck and Mr. Umbrell still work there.
A spokesman for Mr. Meehan did not return phone calls, nor did the defendants' lawyers.
Commerce's stock, which fell sharply immediately after the verdict was announced in the early afternoon, closed down 5.9%.
Adam Barkstrom, an analyst with Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc., said he is concerned that regulators will look again at Commerce's internal controls.
But Mark Fitzgibbon, the director of research at Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP, wrote in a research note, "The outcome does not change our long-term thesis" about Commerce's success.
