Naugatuck Valley Reaches Truce with Activist Investor

By Paul Davis March 17, 2014, 1:20 p.m. EDT 1 Min Read

M&A

Activist Investor Stilwell Pressures Two More Community Banks

Joseph Stilwell said in recent regulatory filings that he wants Fairmount Bancorp in Baltimore and Harvard Illinois Bancorp to find buyers. He also filed a document backing Jefferson Bancshares' planned sale to HomeTrust.

By Paul Davis

March 10
Community banking

Long-Troubled Thrift Loses Deadweight on Road to Recovery

Naugatuck Valley Financial in Connecticut is attempting the same transition that scores of other banks have completed in the last year, purging past mistakes in an effort to concentrate more on expansion.

By John Reosti

August 7

Joseph Stilwell has reached a truce with another banking company.

The activist investor disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday that Naugatuck Valley Financial (NVSL) in Naugatuck, Conn., had agreed to appoint Robert Bolton to its board. Bolton will serve a term ending in 2016, the filing said.

The $487 million-asset company also agreed to refrain from adopting any stock incentive plans, the filing said.

William Calderara, Naugatuck Valley's president and CEO, wasn't immediately available to comment.

Naugatuck Valley has slowly been turning itself around, selling more than $25 million of impaired loans in the second quarter to help it get a handle on longstanding credit issues.

"We're approaching a transition point," Calderara told American Banker in August. "People can see that efforts are being made and changes are taking place. We've got a little more to do, but what's left will be a whole lot easier to accomplish because of the sales."

Stilwell still has potential proxy battles brewing with several other banks, including Fairmount Bancorp (FMBI), Harvard Illinois Bancorp (HARI) and Poage Bancshares (PBSK).

Paul Davis