Bank of Commerce

Rebounding from a small profit in 1983 and a loss in 1982, Bank of Commerce reported a profit of $501,000 for the year ended last Dec. 31, a 15.1% return on the bank’s equity. The bank reported a $100,000 profit in 1983 and a loss of $194,000 in 1982.

The bank also plans a $7-per-share, 12% preferred convertible stock offering this spring that could raise its current 6% capital ratio to as high as 8%, President Peter Q. Davis said. The offering, convertible to common stock at the desire of the holder, will have two attached warrants worth $1 each, one expiring in two years, the other in three. The total offering will sell for $9 per unit, Davis said.

With so many banks near or below regulatory net-worth requirements, Davis said, “a number of new offerings can be anticipated” in the next few months. Bank of Commerce’s offering, he added, will be priced at “close to book value” at a “less than nine-to-one” price-earnings ratio. The bank’s per-share earnings in 1984 were 84 cents.

Fourth-quarter earnings were $280,000, compared to a loss of $202,000 in the fourth quarter of 1983. At year-end 1984, assets increased 15% to $73.5 million, loans rose 10% to $54 million and deposits increased 13.5% to $67 million.