John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund Declares Quarterly Distribution
June 01 2009 - 5:22PM
PR Newswire (US)
BOSTON, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John Hancock Bank and
Thrift Opportunity Fund (NYSE:BTO) (the "Fund") declared a
quarterly distribution of $0.0504 per share today. This
distribution rate equates to an annualized rate of 1.61%, based on
the Fund's closing market price of $12.49 as of May 29, 2009. The
distribution rate is payable June 30, 2009 to shareholders of
record on June 11, 2009 and with an ex-date of June 9, 2009. As
announced on May 11, 2009, the Board of Trustees concluded that it
was in the best interest of shareholders to voluntarily suspend the
Fund's managed distribution plan (the "Plan") effective with this
June 2009 distribution. While the Plan is suspended, the Fund will
continue to pay out any net investment income earned on the
portfolio on a quarterly basis as well as any net realized capital
gains on an annual basis, as required. The Fund's Plan was adopted
by the Board of Trustees in May 2003 and was implemented in January
2004. Under the Plan, the Fund made quarterly distributions of an
amount equal to at least 2.5% (or 10% annually) of the Fund's net
asset value ("NAV") determined at the preceding calendar year end.
The Plan was originally adopted to allow the Fund to distribute
significant capital gains accrued in the portfolio. Since the Plan
was originally adopted, the Fund has distributed nearly $400
million of long-term gains to its shareholders. Before coming to
the conclusion to suspend the Plan, the Board took a number of
factors into consideration, including, but not limited to, the
current level of gains and losses in the portfolio as well as
current market conditions. Unprecedented market declines and
extreme market volatility, especially in the banking sector, have
resulted in a substantial reduction of capital gains available in
the portfolio for distribution, thereby impairing the Fund's
ability to support the distribution level of the Plan without the
risk of distributions consisting substantially of return of
capital. While there has been some recent improvement in the
sector, Management has determined that the gains currently
available in the Fund's portfolio are not at the levels needed to
sustain the Plan over the long-term. Furthermore, portfolio
management believes that this action may allow them the opportunity
to retain capital in order to take advantage of severely
under-valued securities and attractive market opportunities as they
seek to enhance the Fund's total return profile over the long-term.
The suspension of the Plan does not impact the Fund's overall
objective of seeking long-term capital appreciation with moderate
income as a secondary objective. The Board will continue to
regularly monitor the Fund's distribution policy. John Hancock Bank
and Thrift Opportunity Fund is a diversified, closed-end fund. The
Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation with moderate income as a
secondary objective by normally investing at least 80% of its
assets in stocks of regional banks and lending companies, including
commercial and industrial banks, savings and loan associations and
bank holding companies. A portion of the Fund's current
distribution may include sources other than net investment income,
including a return of capital. The ultimate composition of the
distribution may vary because it may be materially impacted by
future realized capital gains or losses, and income from holdings.
As required under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Fund will
provide a notice to shareholders at the time of payment of a
distribution that may not consist solely of net income. Such
notification will also be posted to the Fund's website at
http://www.jhfunds.com/ where it will be viewable under the "Funds
& Performance" tab, by clicking on "Closed-End Funds" and then
"19(a) Distribution Notices". The notice is for informational
purposes only and should not be used to prepare tax returns as the
estimates indicated in the notice may differ from the ultimate
federal income tax characterization of distributions reported to
shareholders on Form 1099 DIV at the end of the calendar year. As
noted, distributions may include return of capital. Investors
should understand that return of capital is not a distribution from
income or gains from the Fund. Statements in this press release
that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as
defined by United States securities laws. You should exercise
caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements
because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which
are, in some cases, beyond the fund's control and could cause
actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements. About John Hancock Funds The
Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial,
John Hancock Funds manages more than $35.8 billion in open-end
funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and
related party assets for individual and institutional investors at
March 31, 2009 About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial
Corporation John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial
Corporation (the Company), a leading Canadian-based financial
services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and
territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada
and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United
States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial
protection products and wealth management services through its
extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners.
Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries
were Cdn$405 billion (US$322 billion) at March 31, 2009. Manulife
Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and
under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the
Internet at http://www.manulife.com/. The John Hancock unit,
through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life
insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of
financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed
and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans,
long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of
business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may
be found at http://www.johnhancock.com/. DATASOURCE: John Hancock
Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund CONTACT: Kelly Stevens,
+1-617-663-2422; or Investors, +1-800-843-0090 Web Site:
http://www.johnhancock.com/
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