Author: admin

Sign up here.

First Guaranty said it has a $52 million credit exposure tied to commercial lease financing to entities related to an unnamed auto parts manufacturer that declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy during the third quarter.

“We are continuing to monitor our loan portfolio and are working to de-risk the bank,” CEO Michael Mineer said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

“We are monitoring all events related to our large recent issue and will continue to assess our reserve and are working in conjunction with our servicer of the lease.”

The lender did not respond to Reuters’ request for the name of the bankrupt auto parts maker.

Provision for credit losses vaulted to $47.9 million in the quarter from $4.9 million a year earlier.

First Guaranty’s shares fell another 1.2% on Friday, following a 17.5% plunge in the previous session to a seven-month low. On Thursday, the lender released its quarterly call report, a regulatory filing that provides details about the bank’s financial health.

The bank’s stock is down 42.3% year-to-date.

“We have taken proactive steps to reserve against the credit, given the current known facts. We anticipate further clarification of our position in the fourth quarter,” Mineer said in a statement.

“For the time being, we will retain the high level of reserve against these commercial lease credits.”

The bank swung to a net loss of $45 million, or $3.01 per share, in the three months ended September 30, versus a net profit of $1.9 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier.

It booked a $12.9 million goodwill impairment charge in the quarter, as its stock trades below book value and higher provisions.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Italian prosecutors ordered the seizure of around €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in shares from the holding company that controls the drinks maker Davide Campari-Milano NV, as part of an alleged tax-fraud probe, according to a statement late Friday.

The order from Monza’s prosecutor office, carried out by the finance police, targets alleged unpaid taxes on assets moved abroad.

Berlin’s main airport briefly suspended flights late Friday after drone sightings, the latest in a string of such incidents across Europe.

Multiple flights into Berlin Brandenburg Airport were diverted to other airports in Germany, starting at about 9 p.m. local time according to the airport’s website. A British Airways plane on approach into the airport was redirected to Dresden, while an EasyJet flight from Paris was sent to Hanover.