For the second time this month, an out-of-town bank is looking to unload one of its local branches.
Hampton Roads Bankshares, the parent of Bank of Hampton Roads and Gateway Bank, said in an SEC filing Tuesday that it is seeking buyers for 10 of its branches across North Carolina and Virginia.
Among them, the company will look to sell one of its Richmond branches, according to the filing.
The bank operates as Gateway Bank in Richmond and has five branches in the local market, including 12090 West Broad St., 13804 Hull St., 8209 West Broad St., 2730 Buford Rd. and 5300 Patterson Ave.
The company has not yet specified which of its Richmond Gateway branches it will sell.
Just last week, Raleigh-based Paragon Commercial Bank announced that it was selling its Richmond branch to locally based Xenith Bank.
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Hampton Roads Bankshares’ chief executive and the bank’s general counsel did not return several calls seeking comment.
The bank said it would also look to sell five branches in Raleigh, one branch each in Wilmington, N.C., Plymouth, N.C., Roper, N.C., and Charlottesville.
The 10 branches combined represent approximately $331.7 million in deposits. The company has $2.2 billion in total deposits, and the sale of these branches would shed about 15 percent of that total.
It’s also unclear whether the bank would look for a single buyer for all 10 branches or sell them off piecemeal.
In addition to dumping branches, Hampton Roads Bankshares said in the filing that it is looking for buyers for its Gateway Bank Mortgage subsidiary and Gateway Insurance.
“The purpose of the proposed sale of branches and businesses is to focus on the Company’s community banking business in its core markets and further reduce its expense base,” the company said in a filing.
The company has been in Richmond since 2008, when one of its predecessors, Gateway Financial Holdings, acquired Bank of Richmond. At the time, Gateway was expanding rapidly across Hampton Roads and North Carolina.
Gateway Financial hit the skids at the beginning of the recession when it took heavy losses from its Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac holdings. The company sold in a fire sale to Hampton Roads Bankshares. The Norfolk-based company has since been dealing with Gateway’s baggage, which has helped bring its total non-performing assets to $270 million.
This latest move comes just days after the bank said it was closing nine branches in Hampton Roads and on the Eastern Shore by consolidating them into nearby locations.
The cuts are part of the company’s plan to trim expenses and dig itself out of the deep losses it suffered in 2009 and 2010.
It lost more than $210 million in 2009, $99 million in 2010 and $31 million in the first quarter of 2011.
Despite the losses, the company managed to raise more than $200 million in capital last year.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter and covers banking. Please send news tips to [email protected].
For the second time this month, an out-of-town bank is looking to unload one of its local branches.
Hampton Roads Bankshares, the parent of Bank of Hampton Roads and Gateway Bank, said in an SEC filing Tuesday that it is seeking buyers for 10 of its branches across North Carolina and Virginia.
Among them, the company will look to sell one of its Richmond branches, according to the filing.
The bank operates as Gateway Bank in Richmond and has five branches in the local market, including 12090 West Broad St., 13804 Hull St., 8209 West Broad St., 2730 Buford Rd. and 5300 Patterson Ave.
The company has not yet specified which of its Richmond Gateway branches it will sell.
Just last week, Raleigh-based Paragon Commercial Bank announced that it was selling its Richmond branch to locally based Xenith Bank.
View Larger Map
Hampton Roads Bankshares’ chief executive and the bank’s general counsel did not return several calls seeking comment.
The bank said it would also look to sell five branches in Raleigh, one branch each in Wilmington, N.C., Plymouth, N.C., Roper, N.C., and Charlottesville.
The 10 branches combined represent approximately $331.7 million in deposits. The company has $2.2 billion in total deposits, and the sale of these branches would shed about 15 percent of that total.
It’s also unclear whether the bank would look for a single buyer for all 10 branches or sell them off piecemeal.
In addition to dumping branches, Hampton Roads Bankshares said in the filing that it is looking for buyers for its Gateway Bank Mortgage subsidiary and Gateway Insurance.
“The purpose of the proposed sale of branches and businesses is to focus on the Company’s community banking business in its core markets and further reduce its expense base,” the company said in a filing.
The company has been in Richmond since 2008, when one of its predecessors, Gateway Financial Holdings, acquired Bank of Richmond. At the time, Gateway was expanding rapidly across Hampton Roads and North Carolina.
Gateway Financial hit the skids at the beginning of the recession when it took heavy losses from its Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac holdings. The company sold in a fire sale to Hampton Roads Bankshares. The Norfolk-based company has since been dealing with Gateway’s baggage, which has helped bring its total non-performing assets to $270 million.
This latest move comes just days after the bank said it was closing nine branches in Hampton Roads and on the Eastern Shore by consolidating them into nearby locations.
The cuts are part of the company’s plan to trim expenses and dig itself out of the deep losses it suffered in 2009 and 2010.
It lost more than $210 million in 2009, $99 million in 2010 and $31 million in the first quarter of 2011.
Despite the losses, the company managed to raise more than $200 million in capital last year.
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter and covers banking. Please send news tips to [email protected].
To all my friends at The Bank of Richmond, I love you all and will pray for you every day.
Glen