BlueHarbor Bank will grow with new branch in Huntersville - Charlotte Business Journal:

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And the company hopes to break grounf on its permanent headquarterxs earlynext year. BlueHarbor opened in Januarhy after raising morethan $20 millionj in startup capital. The headed by Chief ExecutiveJim Marshall, is targeting small-business and retailk customers in the Lake Norman Marshall hopes to open the bank's second location in a branch building formerlgy occupied by "We think it'a a great opportunity for us," says who previously was CEO of and speng 15 years with First Citizens Bancshares.
"We'rse pleased with where we are in our young life BlueHarbor plans to build its permanenrt headquarters on the same lot where its temporarh building is located in the MorrisonPlantatiom development. At the end of the firsg quarter, BlueHarbor had $26 million in assets and reportedr a lossof $1.3 million. Startup banks typically don' turn a profit in their first two yearw of business as they build up loans to generateinterestg income. Marshall says the bank is makingg a fair number of loans tosmalo businesses, but it's doing relatively few constructio n and development deals due to the real estatew slowdown.
The bank has hired a branchy manager for its newlocation -- a former employee of the former , which was recentlyh acquired by Cincinnati-based . Marshall says a few First Charter customers have visitexd BlueHarbor expressing interest in moving their which he says is standard when a localp bank disappears becauseof merger. "Fifth Thirdc can do everything right, but there's just a certaimn amount of people that want to remain with alocal bank," he says. Much of BlueHarbor's business modek is based on the approachof Ore.-based .
The company favors stylish "stores" that offe r free wireless Internet accesz andthe bank's own brand of BlueHarbor is already offering its own coffee, a Costa Ricann blend made for the bank by Dilworth Coffee. "Wre recognize we're in the marketing businesws -- we're just marketing bank products and services and givingh them a retail spin that mostbanks don't Marshall says. When Fifth Third Bancorp's acquisition of Charlotte-based Firsyt Charter Corp. closed this month, the majority of the company's more than 35 million shares were exchangef for FifthThird stock.
As part of its Fifth Third agreed to pay cash for upto 30% of Firs t Charter's total shares. Aftefr last week, some of those new Fifth Third shareholders may be wishintg they had been part ofthat 30% Last Friday, shares of Fifth Third dropped more than 10% as an analystt at projected the $111 billion-asset bank will have to cut its dividens and raise new capital due to anticipatedx loan losses in its mortgage portfolio. Abougt a third of the bank's loan portfolio is in Floridaqand Michigan, two states hit hard by the housing downturn.
The stock price dropped an additional 14% Wednesda y morning, after Fifth Third said it would slasuits second-quarter dividend to 15 centsd per share from the 44 cent it paid in the first quarter. Also, the company confirmed it is launching a stock offering in an effort to shore up itscapitalp position. In addition, the Cincinnati-based bank plans to sell severapnoncore businesses. It didn't identift which businesses itwill sell. By noon Fifth Third shares had droppedto $10.89 from Tuesday'se closing price of $12.73. Fiftyh Third paid $31 for each share of Firsr Charter, or about $1.1 billion for the $4.
8 billion-asset The deal has given it 57 branches in North Carolina and two insuburbajn Atlanta. The bank converted First Charter'sx computer systems and branches on June 9 and unveilex new signs thesame day. Bob James, formerly chief executiv of First Charter, is president of Fift h Third's North Carolina affiliate.