2008-07-16 12:22:00
Increase in capital is for the purpose of moving the Bank’s
business forward
NEWBURGH, N.Y.–(EMWNews)–Fueling the safe and sound growth of the bank is a priority at Empire
State Bank and the main reason for the recent decision of the Board of
ES Bancshares, Inc., the Bank’s holding
company to modify the terms of its 327,690 outstanding Common Stock
Purchase Warrants and 190,000 Organizer Warrants to purchase Company
Common Stock.
Anthony Costa, Chairman and CEO, said, “We are
excited to offer our warrant holders an opportunity to purchase
additional stock at a reduced price. The main reason for raising
additional capital is to allow the Bank to continue to grow at a managed
pace and add new branch locations. We think there are real opportunities
to expand in today’s marketplace provided that
we do so in a thoughtful manner. Despite the recent economic woes of
many banks, Empire State Bank currently remains virtually free of
delinquent and non-performing loans. As of June 30, 2008 loan arrears 30
days or more represent only 0.23% of our total loan portfolio and 0.14%
of total assets.”
Costa said, “Adding capital now would allow
the Bank to continue its growth in a safe and sound manner at a time
when many financial institutions are taking significant losses on loans
and other investments. Empire State Bank has enjoyed significant growth
since opening a third branch and lending center in Staten Island,
November 2007 and all branches have experienced growth in 2008. Our
primary objective is to increase shareholder value through safe and
sound growth.”
The Company has reduced the exercise price of the Common Stock Warrants
from $10.00 to $6.75. As was previously announced, the Board extended
the expiration date of such Common Stock Warrants from June 28, 2008 at
5:00 p.m. New York time to October 31, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. New York time.
The Common Stock Warrants were originally issued in connection with the
initial public offering on April 28, 2004. Each purchaser in the
offering was provided with a Common Stock Warrant to purchase one share
for every five shares purchased.
The Company also announced that effective June 30, 2008, it had reduced
the exercise price of its 190,000 Organizer Warrants from $10.00 to
$6.75 for a period ending on October 31, 2008 after which the exercise
price will revert back to $10.00 per share. The Organizer Warrants,
which had an original exercise price of $10.00 per share and expiration
date of June 28, 2009, were granted to its 19 organizers in connection
with the opening of Empire State Bank. President and COO Phil Guarnieri
said, “We anticipate that the organizers of
the Bank would be major participants in the warrant offering. The
organizers were responsible for forming the Bank and continue to be
supporters.”
The Company has engaged American Stock Transfer and Trust Company as its
Exchange Agent to facilitate the exercise of the Common Stock Warrants,
and is in the process of sending warrant holders instructions on how to
effectuate the exercise.
Empire State Bank is a commercial bank that was founded in 2004. The
Bank operates as a community-oriented institution offering a broad array
of financial services to meet the needs of the communities it serves.
The bank is headquartered in the town of Newburgh in Orange County, New
York. In addition to its Staten Island branch it operates a branch in
the city of New Paltz, Ulster County, New York. The Bank’s
deposits are insured up to the maximum allowable amount by the Bank
Insurance Fund of the FDIC. The Bank maintains a website at www.esbna.com
with corporate, investor and branch banking information.
“Forward-looking statements”
as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may
be included in this release. A variety of factors could cause ES
Bancshares, Inc.’s actual results to differ
from those expected at the time of this release, including changing
market conditions, changes in local real estate values and loan demand,
changes in the market price of ES Bancshares, Inc.’s
common stock, competition, general and local economic conditions,
changes in interest rates, our inability to carry out our marketing
and/or expansion plans and regulatory concerns. Investors are urged to
carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by ES
Bancshares, Inc. in its periodic reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the information disclosed in ES
Bancshares, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form
10-KSB for the most recently ended fiscal year. Copies of these filings
are available at no cost on the SEC’s web
site at http://www.sec.gov or on ES
Bancshares, Inc.’s web site at http://www.esbna.com.
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