Two Bank IPOs Price Lower Than Expected

Pricing of the initial public offerings of two buyers of distressed banks fell short of expectations Thursday.

Capital Bank Financial (CBF) in Coral Gables, Fla., priced its shares at $18 per share, the $6.3 billion-asset company said Thursday. Last week it said it would sell its shares for between $21 and $23 per share.

National Bank Holdings (NBHC) in Greenwood, Colo., priced its shares at $19.25 per share, the $5.7 billion-asset company said Thursday. This was below the $20 to $22 range it announced last week.

Financial companies have struggled in pricing their IPOs recently and others have even avoided going public. EverBank (EVER) cut its price twice before finally going public, and a private investor backed out of selling almost 6 million shares after the Jacksonville, Fla., company lowered the price. HomeStreet (HMST) in Seattle lowered its price three times before going public in February.

Customers Bancorp in Wyomissing, Pa., postponed its IPO plans in May and later struck a deal to purchase Acacia Federal Savings Bank from Ameritas Mutual Holding to achieve the same goal of building its capital.

National and Capital's shares began trading on Thursday. National's shares were up about 3%, to $19.83, at midday while Capital's shares rose more than 1%, to $18.30.