Village Bank and Trust Financial Corp. (VBFC)

[Enterprising Investor]

Village Bank announces termination of regulatory consent order (12/28/15)

By Carol Hazard

Village Bank and Trust Financial Corp., parent company of Village Bank, said Monday that it has been released from an agreement with regulators to improve its financial condition.

The Midlothian-based bank said it received notification last Tuesday from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Virginia’s Bureau of Financial Institutions that the consent order under which the bank has been operating since Feb. 3, 2012, was terminated effective Dec. 14.

The order was terminated as a result of the steps taken to improve asset quality, increase capital, augment management and board oversight, and increase earnings, the bank said.

“The release of the consent order is an important milestone for us,” said Bill Foster, president and CEO of Village Bank and Trust. “I am proud of the efforts of our team and the board to get us to this point in our journey to becoming a great bank in every way.”

The bank is pursuing a strategy to become a high-performing bank with sustainable earnings growth and excellent asset quality, Foster said. “We believe our strategy will allow us to drive stock price appreciation by growing book value over the next five years and achieving performance metrics that will support a high price-to-book multiple.”

He said the bank is focused on achieving a return on assets of more than 1 percent and a return on equity of more than 10 percent. “We have been back on offense for some time and have been growing the client relationships on which our business is built, and that is showing in our results this year.”

In place of the consent order, Village Bank’s board of directors has made written assurances to regulators in a memorandum of understanding that contains provisions concerning asset quality, earnings, regulatory violations, minimum capital levels, asset growth, restrictions on paying dividends, and a requirement to furnish progress reports to regulators. A memorandum of understanding is considered an informal regulatory action.

Village Bank has 11 branch offices.

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_eeba3fec-55c9-593c-bf65-f3c1952689c7.html