Customers Bancorp to Sell $270 Million of Securities

After putting its initial public offering plans on ice, Customers Bancorp in Wyomissing, Pa., has placed $270 million of its investment portfolio on the auction block.

Customers, headed by former Sovereign Bancorp Chief Executive Jay Sidhu, reclassified the funds from held-to-maturity status to “provide higher liquidity and free up capital to deploy into loan growth,” the company said Friday. The decision was made to reclassify the investment securities because of “its strong outlook for loan growth, falling interest rates” and the decision to postpone its IPO.

The move will increase equity by $5.3 million and that its tangible book value will rise from $13.07 per share to $13.53 per share, the $2 billion-asset Customers said.

Customers postponed its IPO Tuesday, citing market conditions. Customers had planned to sell up to 8.2 million shares at $13 to $15 each. Sidhu told American Banker that Customers could pursue an IPO later this year or early next year, and that he may solicit a private-equity investment.