GLEN ALLEN, Va., March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Bankers
Trust Corporation, the holding company for Essex Bank (the
"Company") (NYSE Amex: BTC), announced today that it has received
regulatory approval for the February
2012 payment of its regular quarterly cash dividend with
respect to its Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock,
Series A. The Company issued the Preferred Stock to the United
States Department of the Treasury in connection with the Company's
participation in the Treasury's TARP Capital Purchase Program in
December 2008. The Company will make
the payment, and will pay all outstanding interest on both the
February payment and the six dividend payments that the Company had
previously deferred, on March 16,
2012.
The Company also received regulatory approval for the payment of
all outstanding interest payments that the Company has deferred
under its trust preferred securities since September 30, 2010. The Company will make this
payment also on March 16, 2012.
The Company's Board of Directors had previously approved all of
these payments, subject to the approval of the Company's federal
and state regulators as set forth in the formal written agreement
that has been in place since April
2011.
Rex L. Smith, III, the Company's
President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased to
have the ability to begin making our TARP payments again, and to
bring all interest payments on our trust preferred securities
current at the same time. It shows the excellent progress that
the Company continues to make, as well as the close relationship
that we have with our regulators to actively address every
supervisory issue regarding our safety and soundness. We believe
that this is the first step towards more substantive relief under
our written agreement and definitely the path to fulfill our TARP
obligations. We will continue our efforts towards reducing
non-performing loans and increasing profitability to ensure
success. At this point, our trends certainly point in the
right direction."
Following the payments described above, the Company will still
have six quarterly dividend payments with respect to the Preferred
Stock that remain accrued and unpaid. The failure to pay dividends
for six dividend periods triggers the right for the holder of the
Preferred Stock to appoint two directors to the Company's
board. The Treasury has not requested to exercise this right
to date.
About Community Bankers Trust Corporation
The Company is the holding company for Essex Bank, a
Virginia state bank with 24
full-service offices, 13 of which are in Virginia, seven of which are in Maryland and four of which are in
Georgia. The Company also operates one loan production
office. Additional information is available on the Company's
website at www.cbtrustcorp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking
statements include, without limitation, statements with respect to
the Company's operations and goals. Actual results may differ
materially from those included in the forward-looking statements
due to a number of factors, including, without limitation, the
effects of and changes in the following: the quality or composition
of the Company's loan or investment portfolios, including
collateral values and the repayment abilities of borrowers and
issuers; assumptions that underlie the Company's allowance for loan
losses; general economic and market conditions, either nationally
or in the Company's market areas; the ability of the Company
to comply with regulatory actions, and the costs associated with
doing so; the interest rate environment; competitive pressures
among banks and financial institutions or from companies outside
the banking industry; real estate values; the demand for deposit,
loan, and investment products and other financial services; the
demand, development and acceptance of new products and services;
the Company's compliance with, and the timing of future
reimbursements from the FDIC to the Company under, shared loss
agreements with the FDIC; assumptions and estimates that underlie
the accounting for loan pools under the shared loss agreements;
consumer profiles and spending and savings habits; the securities
and credit markets; costs associated with the integration of
banking and other internal operations; management's evaluation of
goodwill and other assets on a periodic basis, and any resulting
impairment charges, under applicable accounting standards; the
soundness of other financial institutions with which the Company
does business; inflation; technology; and legislative and
regulatory requirements. Many of these factors and additional risks
and uncertainties are described in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and other
reports filed from time to time by the Company with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. This press release speaks only as of its
date, and the Company disclaims any duty to update the information
in it.
SOURCE Community Bankers Trust Corporation