BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Nov. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Superior
Bancorp (Nasdaq: SUPR) announced today that the Company and its
principal operating subsidiary, Superior Bank, have entered into
agreements with the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), their
primary regulator, to continue taking actions to strengthen their
financial condition and operations. Each agreement, known as
a Stipulation and Consent to the Issuance of an Order to Cease and
Desist, is a formal action by the OTS requiring corrective measures
in a number of areas. No fines or penalties were imposed as a
result of these formal actions.
C. Stanley Bailey, Chairman &
CEO, stated, "Superior has been working closely with its regulators
since the start of this economic recession to increase capital,
reduce higher risk and non-performing loans, return to
profitability and maintain safe and sound banking practices.
These agreements formalize steps that already are underway
and that we and our regulators believe are necessary to improve
Superior's financial health, and its ability to provide a
'superior' level of service to our customers and the communities we
serve in Alabama and Florida."
Under the agreements, Superior is required, among other things,
to increase the Bank's capital, maintain its allowance for loan and
lease losses at a level appropriate for the risk in its loan
portfolio, reduce its classified assets, discontinue the extension
of loans to certain stressed sectors of the economy, update its
three-year capital and business plans, reduce brokered deposits,
prohibit payment of dividends by the Bank and the Company at this
time and increase management and board oversight. The Company and
Bank are implementing a comprehensive plan to achieve full
compliance with the orders.
Customer deposits and performing, non-classified loans are
unaffected by the agreement with the OTS. Deposits remain
fully covered by FDIC insurance to at least $250,000 per depositor. In addition,
non-interest bearing transaction accounts and qualified NOW
checking accounts are fully guaranteed by the FDIC for an unlimited
amount of coverage under the FDIC's Transaction Account Guarantee
(TAG) program, in which Superior Bank is a participant. The
coverage under TAG is in addition to, and separate from, the
coverage available under the FDIC's general deposit insurance
protection.
About Superior Bancorp
Superior Bancorp is a $3.4 billion
thrift holding company headquartered in Birmingham, and the second largest bank
holding company headquartered in Alabama. The principal subsidiary of Superior
Bancorp is Superior Bank, a southeastern community bank that
currently has 73 branches, with 45 locations throughout the state
of Alabama and 28 locations in
Florida. Superior Bank also
operates 24 consumer finance offices in North Alabama as 1st Community Credit and
Superior Financial Services.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a
safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by us or on our
behalf. Some of the disclosures in this release, including any
statements preceded by, followed by or which include the words
"may," "could," "should," "will," "would," "hope," "might,"
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan,"
"assume" or similar expressions constitute forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements, implicitly and
explicitly, include the assumptions underlying the statements and
other information with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives,
goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates, intentions,
financial condition, results of operations, future performance and
business, including our expectations and estimates with respect to
our revenues, expenses, earnings, return on equity, return on
assets, efficiency ratio, asset quality, the adequacy of our
allowance for loan losses and other financial data and capital and
performance ratios. Although we believe that the expectations
reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, these
statements involve risks and uncertainties which are subject to
change based on various important factors (some of which are beyond
our control). Such forward looking statements should, therefore, be
considered in light of various important factors set forth from
time to time in our reports and registration statements filed with
the SEC. The following factors, among others, could cause our
financial performance to differ materially from our goals, plans,
objectives, intentions, expectations and other forward-looking
statements: (1) the strength of the
United States economy in general and the strength of the
regional and local economies in which we conduct operations; (2)
changes in local economic conditions in the markets in which we
operate; (3) the continued weakening in the real estate values in
the markets in which we operate; (4) the effects of, and changes
in, trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including
interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System; (5) increases in FDIC deposit insurance premiums
and assessments; (6) inflation or deflation and interest rate,
market and monetary fluctuations; (7) the adequacy of our allowance
for loan losses to cover actual losses and impact of credit risk
exposures; (8) greater loan losses than historic levels and
increased allowance for loan loss; (9) our timely development of
new products and services in a changing environment, including the
features, pricing and quality compared to the products and services
of our competitors; (10) the willingness of users to substitute
competitors' products and services for our products and services;
(11) changes in loan underwriting, credit review or loss reserve
policies associated with economic conditions, examination
conclusions, or regulatory developments; (12) the impact of changes
in financial services policies, laws and regulations, including
laws, regulations and policies concerning taxes, banking,
securities and insurance, and the application thereof by regulatory
bodies; (13) our ability to comply with any requirements imposed on
us and Superior Bank by our regulators; (14) restrictions or
limitations on our access to funds from Superior Bank; (15) changes
in accounting policies, principles and guidelines applicable to us;
(16) our focus on lending to small to mid-size community-based
businesses, which may increase our credit risk; (17) our ability to
resolve any regulatory, legal or judicial proceeding on acceptable
terms and its effect on our financial condition or results of
operations; (18) technological changes; (19) changes in consumer
spending and savings habits; (20) the effect of natural or
environmental disasters, such as, among other things, hurricanes
and oil spills, in our geographic markets; (21) the continuing
instability in the domestic and international capital markets; (22)
the effects on our operations of policy initiatives or laws that
have been and may continue to be introduced by the Presidential
administration or Congress and related regulatory actions,
including but not limited to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder;
(23) our ability to successfully integrate the assets, liabilities,
customers, systems and management we acquire or merge into our
operations; (24) our ability to raise additional capital to fund
growth plans or to meet regulatory requirements; and (25) other
factors and information contained in reports and other filings we
make with the SEC. If one or more of the factors affecting our
forward-looking information and statements proves incorrect, then
our actual results, performance or achievements could differ
materially from those expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking
information and statements contained in this report. Therefore, we
caution you not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking
information and statements. We do not intend to update our
forward-looking information and statements, whether written or
oral, to reflect changes. All forward-looking statements
attributable to us are expressly qualified by these cautionary
statements.
More information on Superior Bancorp and its subsidiaries may be
obtained over the Internet, http://www.superiorbank.com, or by
calling 1-877-326-BANK (2265).
SOURCE Superior Bancorp