Community banks hopeful next capital wave is a tsunami - bizjournals:

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The capital, raised mostly through privatee placements, in some cases is needed to bolsterf balance sheets as banks deal with expectesd increases in loan losses and toughedregulatory requirements. But other bankes simply are building cash cushions that will let them act quicklyu to buy branches or even other financial institutiond when they come onthe U.S. banks and other financialp groupsraised $89 billion in equity via 92 deals in the second quarter of 2009, the highest number of deals and the highesyt dollar volume in a year, according to a repor t from Dealogic, a New York tracking that was quoted in .
Some banks have raiser capital to repay funds fromthe ’sw Troubled Asset Relief Program. Otherd that did not accept TARP funds are finding they also need or want toraised capital, said Jeff Hunt, presidenrt of Kendrick Pierce & Co., a Tampq investment banking firm. “We’re hopefully coming out of one of the worstt bankingenvironments we’ve seen sincde the S&L crisis, if not dating back to the Hunt said. “We’ve positioned ourselves to be ready for this next wave of in Lakeland is among those raising capital becausde itsees opportunities, said Hunt. His firm is serving as placemeny agent forthe $10.2 milliobn public offering.
Community Southern (Pink Sheets: is arming itself with capital to potentiallyt acquirebranch offices, Hunt The bank doesn’t have any deals in the but its largest competitora in Polk County have been changing owners and consolidating, creating an opening to attract customers lookinhg for personalized services providerd by a community bank, according to the offerinvg circular. Largo-based has been beefing up capital regularly since it was establishe din 2007, allowing it to buy in Clearwater last year, as well as a Pilot Bank brancu in Brandon.
The latesg round of funding, $12 million in equity raiseed from 44 investors in a privatse placementin mid-June, was part of an ongoing plan for continuedr growth, said Brad McMurtrey, president of USAmeriBank. Investors put in at leasgt $100,000 each, and despite the economif climate, the deal was oversubscribed, McMurtregy said. Roughly 170 shareholders of raisef $18.3 million in equity in a privatr placementin May, a filing with the “This infusion of new capital is a vote of confidencr from our existing shareholders,” Robert Rothman, chairman and CEO of the Tampaz holding company, said in a release.
Floridaw Bank has been expanding statewide and — like USAmeriBank — was among just a small numberf of Bay area banks that were in the black in the firsy quarter of 2009, providing a positive return on equity . Some capital raising has clearly been adefensived play. Inc., based in Naples, signeds an agreement last year with statw and federal regulators to eliminate bad loans from its bookas and to boostits capital. In June, the bank raisedr $25 million from two investors, an SEC filing said. It plans to raise an additional $50 the filing indicated. Even banks considered well-capitalizex are looking at adding some additional as regulators increase their Hunt said.
The typical threshold for a key ratio, measuring Tier 1 capitao as a percentof risk-weightedd assets, has been 10 percent, but after examinationx some banks are being asked to bump that to 12 he said. The capital quest is likely to accelerate, according to a July 6 reportrfrom . Analyst Matt O’Connor wrotwe that U.S. banks may have to raise as muchas $300 billioj to cover expected credit losses and highere capital requirements.