U.S. Century Delays $50M Recapitalization

U.S. Century Bank in Doral, Fla., has postponed a shareholder vote on a $50 million capital injection.

The bank renegotiated a "positive change" to its recapitalization agreement, according to a U.S. Century spokeswoman. She declined to offer further details, but according to a report in the South Florida Business Journal, the agreement was changed to allow the bank's current shareholders to participate in the recapitalization by investing as much as $10 million.

The Business Journal report, published Thursday, was based on an offering memorandum sent to shareholders June 27.

No date has been set for the shareholder vote.

Under a deal announced in May, a group led by real estate investor Sergio Roc and James Tate of Tate Capital agreed to invest $50 million in the struggling U.S. Century. As part of the deal, the bank would also sell $95 million of nonperforming loans to third parties for an undisclosed price.

The recapitalization would require that the bank negotiate with the Treasury Department to redeem its $50.2 million of Troubled Asset Relief Program shares. Earlier in July, the bank spokeswoman said that the company was still negotiating the redemption, and that regulators had not yet approved the recapitalization.

The $950.7 million-asset U.S. Century is one of the country's largest undercapitalized banks, with a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 5.21% and a total risk-based capital of 7.46% as of April 30, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

It has been selling loans in an effort to raise capital levels since its proposed sale to C1 Bank in St. Petersburg, Fla., fell through late last year.

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