The wounded Capitol Bancorp Ltd. is continuing its bank sell-off.
In its third deal this week, the $5.8 billion-asset company, which has dual headquarters in Lansing, Mich., and Phoenix, said Thursday that it has agreed to sell its Community Bank of Rowan in North Carolina to First American Financial Management Co. in Charlotte.
Capitol, which would be paid in cash, did not specify the amount, but said it would receive 1.5 times the tangible common equity of the bank.
The company would continue to provide back-office support to the $147 million-asset bank after the deal closes. It is expected to close by yearend.
Mounting credit issues have prompted Capitol to shift from growing to divesting, as it seeks to bolster capital.
In April it hired KBW Inc.'s Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to help it identify which banks to sell. It operates dozens of them across 17 states, mostly start-ups.
So far the company has announced five deals in all. This week it said it was selling the $45 million-asset 1st Commerce Bank in North Las Vegas to a blank-check company, Global Consumer Acquisition Corp., and the $62 million-asset Bank of Santa Barbara to an investor group led by the California banker Eloy Ortega.
Last week Capitol said it had agreed to sell its 51% ownership stake in the $70 million-asset Bank of Belleville in Illinois to local investors.
In early May the $133 million-asset Foothills Bank in Yuma Arizona announced it had agreed to pay $10.5 million for Capitol’s $72.3 million-asset Yuma Community Bank.
