Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., is looking to raise more than $300 million in capital as it prepares for its first Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test.
The $19 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that it will sell 6.6 million shares of common stock. It could sell another 990,000 shares of stock if there is enough demand.
Bank of the Ozarks said it will use proceeds from the sale for purposes such as organic growth and acquisitions.
Bank of the Ozarks is looking to raise capital before Dec. 31, the date used for financials reported on the DFAST, Stephen Scouten, an analyst at Sander O’Neill, wrote in a note to clients after talking to the company’s management. The company’s first DFAST stress test is set for June 2018.
“The stress test does not account for capital formation during the nine-quarter test period, which would leave [Bank of the Ozarks’] capital levels thin in the base case scenario, given the company's continued rapid growth,” Scouten wrote.
Bank of the Ozarks has been an active acquirer in recent years, buying C1 Financial in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Community & Southern Holdings in Atlanta. The company announced in April that it will dissolve its holding company for cost-cutting purposes.
