SUFFOLK, Va., Jan. 29, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hampton Roads-based TowneBank (Nasdaq:TOWN) announced today that its Board of Directors on January 28, 2009 declared a quarterly cash dividend of $2.00 per preferred share on its 8% Non-Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, Series A for the period December 1, 2008 through February 28, 2009. The dividend is payable on March 2, 2009 to shareholders of record on February 13, 2009.
Also on January 28, 2009, the Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $8.75 per share on its Series B Fixed-Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock. This preferred dividend is payable on February 17, 2009, to the shareholder of record as of February 2, 2009. This is the first quarterly dividend payment to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the shareholder of record, on the preferred stock issued to it by TowneBank under the Capital Purchase Program of the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
The amount and declaration of future cash dividends are subject to Board of Director's approval in addition to regulatory restrictions.
As one of Virginia's top community banks, TowneBank now operates 17 banking offices in Chesapeake, Hampton, Portsmouth, Newport News, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Williamsburg and York County. Towne also offers a full range of financial services through its controlled divisions and subsidiaries that include Towne Investment Group, Towne Insurance Agency, TFA Benefits, TowneBank Mortgage, TowneBank Commercial Mortgage, Prudential Towne Realty, TowneBank 1031 Exchange, LLC, Corolla Classic Vacations and Corolla Real Estate. Through its strategic partnership with William E. Wood and Associates, the bank also offers mortgage services in all of their offices in Hampton Roads and Northeastern North Carolina. Local decision-making is a hallmark of its hometown banking strategy that is delivered through the leadership of each group's President and Board of Directors. With total assets of $3.13 billion as of December 31, 2008, TowneBank is one of the largest banks headquartered in Virginia.
Cautionary Statement:
This release may contain forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include competitive pressures in the banking industry that may increase significantly, changes in the interest rate environment may reduce margins and/or the volumes and values of loans made or held as well as the value of other financial assets held, general economic conditions, either nationally or regionally, may be less favorable than expected, resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality and/or a reduced demand for credit or other services, changes in the legislative or regulatory environment, including changes in accounting standards, may adversely affect our businesses, costs or difficulties related to the integration of the business and the businesses we have acquired may be greater than expected, expected cost savings associated with pending or recently completed acquisitions may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame, our competitors may have greater financial resources and develop products that enable them to compete more successfully, changes in business conditions, changes in the securities market and changes in our local economy with regards to our market area and its heavy concentration of U.S. military bases and related personnel. We assume no obligation to update information contained in this release.