Ailing Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Seeks Another Loan Extension

Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin in Madison is once again hoping it can push back to the due date of its line of credit.

The $3.2 billion-asset company said in a press release late Monday it is negotiating with U.S. Bancorp on an extension for the $116.3 million line of credit. The line, and an additional $31.7 million of accrued interest and fees, comes due on Nov. 30. That due date was negotiated in May, when Anchor and the Minneapolis-based lender entered their seventh amendment to the credit agreement. It originally was due in March 2009.

If U.S. Bancorp is unwilling to extend the due date again, Anchor warned in its quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that it doesn't currently have the ability to repay.

"As of the date of this filing, the corporation does not have sufficient cash on hand to reduce the outstanding borrowings to zero," It said in the filing. "There can be no assurance that we will be able to raise sufficient capital or have sufficient cash on hand to reduce the outstanding borrowings to zero by November 30, 2011, which may limit our ability to fund ongoing operations."

While the company has been unable to find additional capital, it has managed to keep its thrift adequately capitalize through branches sales and a continued reduction in assets. At Sept. 30, its thrift unit's total risk-based capital ratio was 8.15%, down from 8.32% a quarter earlier. A 2009 agreement with the Office of the Thrift Supervision called for that ratio to be 12%.

The company reported a loss of $19.6 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30. A year earlier it reported a loss of $1.8 million. The widened loss was driven by higher credit costs and lower noninterest income.