As some large banks 
like BB&T, SunTrust and Fifth Third Bancorp accept funding from the U.S. Treasury Department to weather the credit crisis, smaller banks are taking different steps to bolster their financial position. In one such instance, Powell Goldstein counsel Lyn Schroeder [left] is advising a South Carolina community bank on its plan to take itself private.
First South Bancorp Inc. said in a regulatory filing that it plans to convert some of its publicly traded common stock to preferred stock. The company then plans to terminate its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The moves will allow First South Bancorp to save money by avoiding the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company estimated it will save about $110,000 per year in management time, legal and accounting fees and other expenses.
The proposal requires the approval of First South Bancorp shareholders. First South Bancorp said it first began discussing a going-private transaction with Powell Goldstein in May, according to its proxy statement. It considered other alternatives, such as a reserve stock split, before decided to pursue the going-private deal.
First South Bancorp operates six locations of First South Bank in the Palmetto State—in the cities of Bluffton, Columbia, Greenville and Spartanburg.