Community West in Calif. Gets OK to Pay Dividends

The Federal Reserve Board has approved Community West Bancshares' (CWBC) request to pay dividends on preferred stock.

An April 2012 written agreement with the Fed precluded the Goleta, Calif.-based Community West from paying dividends without prior regulatory approval. Community West now expects to pay $1.4 million in dividends, which were deferred between May 15, 2012, and Nov. 15, 2013. The payment will be distributed in January, according to a press release Thursday.

Community West's written agreement with the Fed requires the $532 million-asset company to develop a capital plan. The company is also operating under a January 2012 consent order issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that requires it to clean up its loan portfolio and maintain Tier 1 capital of at least 9% and total risk-based capital of at least 12%. 

The company had a 12.1% Tier 1 leverage ratio and a 17.62% total risk-based capital ratio as of Sept. 30, according to the release.

Community West reported earnings of $2.6 million in the third quarter, up 24% from the same period in 2012. It earned $5.9 million in the first nine months of the year, a 600% increase from the first nine months of the previous year.

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