PL Capital Launches Proxy Battle Against Metro Bank in Pennsylvania

By Colin Wilhelm October 20, 2014, 2:17 p.m. EDT 1 Min Read

Community banking

Metro Bancorp in Pennsylvania to Cut $3M in Annual Costs

Metro Bancorp in Harrisburg, Pa., which has been under pressure from several investors, is taking steps to improve earnings and shareholder returns.

By Colin Wilhelm

October 14
M&A

Three Activists Push Pennsylvania Bank to Find Buyer

Metro Bancorp, once an aspiring acquirer, is fielding complaints from a trio of investment firms that believe management is incapable of meaningfully improving the company's performance.

By Robert Barba

June 26
M&A

Metro in Pennsylvania Faces Investor Pressure to Sell

Metro Bancorp (METR) in Harrisburg, Pa., is facing pressure from an investor to sell itself.

By Paul Davis

June 11

PL Capital, upset that Metro Bancorp refuses to sell itself, has launched a proxy battle to gain two board seats at the Harrisburg, Pa., company.

The investment firm, which owns nearly 9% of Metro's stock, is one of several investors that have been pushing the $2.2 billion-asset company to find a buyer, citing underperformance as the issue. To PL Capital's consternation, Metro instead announced plans last week to cut annual operating expenses by $3 million while adding three independent directors.

PL Capital said in a press release Monday that it will nominate Richard Lashley, one if the investment group's principals, and William Houlihan, an investment banking veteran who focused on commercial banks while at Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, and JPMorgan Chase. Houlihan stepped down as the chief financial officer of Amalgamated Bank in New York in February.

Metro typically holds its annual meetings in May.

Colin Wilhelm