Vineyard Bank agrees to OCC consent order
Vineyard Bank announced on Monday that it is voluntarily agreeing to a federal regulator's consent order, which says the bank must manage its financial woes by following a three-year capital plan and numerous other rules.
It's the latest regulatory eyeing of the bank and its parent company, Corona-based Vineyard National Bancorp.
In May, the Federal Reserve Board and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington D.C. said the holding company was in a "troubled condition."
On top of a heated proxy battle coming to head at the Aug. 5 shareholder meeting, the OCC charged Vineyard with the daunting task of keeping its head above regulatory waters, according to a Securities Exchange Commission filing on Monday.
Vineyard must not only diversify its investments, but also get the OCC's permission if it wants to grow its loan portfolio by more than 5 percent from the prior year, among a litany of other regulations.
The documents also said Vineyard told its creditor -- First Tennessee Bank National Association -- on Thursday that it might need another extension on a $48 million loan. The overdue loan was already extended to Aug. 29, and Vineyard is backing nonpayment with its entire shareholder stock.
Vineyard is suffering unprecedented losses because it loaned money to developers and builders who can't repay what they borrowed.
A new board of directors, if elected at the shareholder meeting, could challenge the OCC's consent order.
Vineyard's shareholder meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario on 222 N. Vineyard Ave.
Investor John Salmanson and former CEO Norman Morales are expected to nominate their hand-picked candidates for the board of directors. Besides himself, Morales is asking for approval of Thomas Koss II, Douglas Kratz, Cynthia Harriss, Harice "Dev" Ogle, Lester Strong and Glen Terry.
Through investor group One Investments LLC, Kratz bought almost 10 percent of Vineyard's stock in late June for about $6.3 million. Morales and Salmanson joined Kratz in the stock purchase.
Vineyard is asking shareholders to approve interim CEO James LeSieur, Frank Alvarez, David Buxbaum, Charles Keagle, Robb Quincey, Joel Ravitz and J. Steven Roush as board members.
--matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com
Look below to read Vineyard's news release about their agreed-upon consent order with the OCC:
| Press Release | Source: Vineyard National Bancorp |
Vineyard National Bancorp Announces Issuance of a Consent Order by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Monday July 28, 11:00 am ET
CORONA, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jul 28, 2008 -- Vineyard National Bancorp (VNBC - News) (the "Company") today announced that its principal subsidiary, Vineyard Bank, N.A. ("Vineyard"), in coordination with and at the request of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC"), has voluntarily consented to the issuance of a Consent Order. The Consent Order establishes timeframes for the completion of remedial measures which have been previously identified and are in process towards completion as part of the Company's internally developed and independently implemented Risk Mitigation Action Plan. Under the Consent Order, Vineyard has agreed to establish a compliance committee to monitor and coordinate compliance with the Consent Order, identify experienced and competent individuals to serve on a permanent, full-time basis as chief executive officer and chief credit officer, maintain capital ratios above the statutory minimums, develop and implement a three-year capital program, and make other organizational, financial, operational and compliance procedural changes to strengthen Vineyard.
James LeSieur, the Company's interim chief executive officer, stated, "We believe that the remedial measures agreed upon with the OCC are in alignment with the important remedial measures previously developed and independently implemented by the Company to address asset quality deterioration and enterprise risk management. I want to take the opportunity to assure our customers and employees that Vineyard's capital remains strong, exceeding adequate regulatory requirements and its deposit accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to the maximum amount permitted by law. I also want to recognize the extraordinary efforts which have been made by our management and employees in the execution of our strategies. With that kind of continued commitment, we believe we are well equipped to aggressively pursue the actions we have previously identified to meet the schedule and requirements of the Consent Order."
| Source: Vineyard National Bancorp | ||||||
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About Vineyard National Bancorp
The Company is a $2.4 billion bank holding company headquartered in Corona, and the parent company of Vineyard and 1031 Exchange Advantage Inc. and 1031 Funding & Reverse Corp. (collectively, "the exchange companies"). Vineyard, also headquartered in Corona, operates through 16 full-service banking centers and four regional financial centers in the counties of Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Clara and Ventura, Calif. The exchange companies are headquartered in Encinitas, Calif. The Company's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "VNBC." For additional information on the Company visit www.vnbcstock.com or for additional information on Vineyard and to access internet banking, please visit www.vineyardbank.com. For additional information on the exchange companies visit www.1031exchangeadvantage.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Federal securities laws. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and could impact the Company and the statements contained herein can be found in the Company's filings with the SEC including quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and annual reports on Form 10-K. For forward-looking statements herein, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other protections under the Federal securities laws. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Contact:
Contact:
Shareholder Relations
951-271-4232
shareholderinfo@vineyardbank.com
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