Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Wed, April 15, 2009
Tue, April 14, 2009
Mon, April 13, 2009 Crescent Banking Company: Crescent Banking Company Announces 2008 Results
JASPER, GA--(Marketwire - April 13, 2009) - Crescent Banking Company, Jasper, Georgia (
Don Boggus, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: "The prevailing economic environment continues to have a significant impact on our asset quality and earnings. While this time is challenging, especially for banks, we intend to continue to take steps that will preserve the long-term safety and soundness of our institution. It remains difficult to determine when and to what extent the financial industry and the market generally will recover. Until that recovery occurs, we expect to continue to face serious challenges going forward."
At December 31, 2008, the Company and Bank were considered "Adequately Capitalized" by regulatory definition. While the Company has withdrawn its application to receive government assistance, the Company continues to actively seek to increase its capital levels to return to the "Well Capitalized" category. The Company has engaged an investment banking firm to assist in its efforts to raise additional capital. Mr. Boggus added, "A sound capital level is critical in this market as we experience earnings pressure as a result of a compressed net interest margin, provisions to the allowance for loan losses and high liquidity levels."
In addition to efforts to raise additional capital, the Company's Board of Directors adopted an "Action Plan" in October of 2008. Under this plan the Bank has:
-- Improved its liquidity position to $153 million of cash and cash equivalents; -- Aggressively recognized and reserved for troubled assets; -- Reduced its concentrations in development and construction loans; -- Reduced overhead, including senior management taking a 10% cut in salary, board members cutting their fees 33%, the elimination of any bonus payments and overall staff reduction; -- Grown non-interest bearing deposit accounts; -- Reduced wholesale and broker deposits; and -- Conducted an outside assessment of management and staffing levels.
The ratio of the Company's non-performing assets to total loans and other real estate was 7.72% at December 31, 2008, as compared to 4.20% at June 30, 2008, and 1.34% at December 31, 2007. The Company had $62.6 million of non-performing assets at December 31, 2008, comprised of $36.8 million of non-accrual and restructured loans and $25.8 million of foreclosed properties held in other real estate owned. The ratio of net charge-offs to average commercial banking loans outstanding was 1.64% for the year ended December 31, 2008, compared to 0.11% for the year ended December 31, 2007. The Company's loan portfolio decreased by $29.8 million to total $785.4 million at December 31, 2008. The Company experienced a $70.7 million decrease in construction, acquisition and development loans during 2008.
Mr. Boggus stated: "We remain focused on aggressively identifying problem loans and pursuing favorable resolutions of any issues associated with those problem loans. Additionally, we have aggressively pursued growth of our core deposits while reducing the Company's overhead. As part of the overhead reduction, our management has voluntarily taken a ten percent pay reduction, and the banking subsidiary's board members have voluntarily reduced their board fees by 33%. We will continue to consider additional cost reduction measures."
About Crescent Banking Company
Crescent Banking Company is a bank holding company headquartered in Jasper, Georgia with total consolidated assets of approximately $1.0 billion and consolidated shareholders' equity of approximately $36.8 million, representing a book value of $6.87 per share, as of December 31, 2008. The Company has 11 full service offices, a loan production office and a corporate office, located in five counties in North Georgia. The Company had approximately 5.4 million shares of common stock outstanding at December 31, 2008. The Company's common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "CSNT."
Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain of the statements in this Press Release may constitute "forward-looking statements" for purposes of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and as such may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results' performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the future results' performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements through our use of words such as "believe," "intend," "continue," "hopeful" and other similar words and expressions of the future. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about: the Company taking an aggressive approach to charge-offs in its loan portfolio; the Company having strong liquidity; the Company taking steps to preserve its long-term safety and soundness; the Company's ability to maintain its capital ratios at levels that will continue to result in the Company being "well capitalized"; the Company's ability to identify and favorably resolve credit issues in its loan portfolio; the Company's ability to achieve growth in core deposits; and the Company's ability to reduce overhead and implement other cost reductions measures.
These forward-looking statements are based upon information presently available to the Company's management and are inherently subjective, uncertain and subject to change, due to any number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the Company's inability to properly manage its credit exposure; including, without limitation, any failure by the Company to identify and resolve credit problems, and/or to any failure to maintain adequate reserves to protect itself against any losses resulting from those credit problems; further deterioration of the Company's asset quality, and/or greater deterioration in asset quality than presently anticipated by the Company; the Company experiencing further unanticipated charge-offs in the loan portfolio; the Company experiencing further net interest margin or other earnings pressures, or other developments, that would negatively affect the Company's liquidity position; the Company's inability to maintain certain capital levels; the Company's inability to identify, implement and realize the anticipated benefits from current and future cost and overhead reduction measures; and those other risks and factors discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 and Quarterly Report for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, June 30, 2008 and September 30, 2008 under the captions "Special Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements," "Risk Factors," and otherwise in the Company's reports and filings that it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, since those statements speak only as of the date that they are made. The Company has no obligation and does not undertake to publicly update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this Press Release or after the respective dates on which such statements otherwise are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise may be required by law.
