It’s Your Business
Naples, Fla. F.N.B. Corp. buys bank
F.N.B. Corp. has announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Charter Banking Corp., the holding company for Southern Exchange Bank based in Tampa, Fla.
Originally chartered in 1923, Southern Exchange Bank is a privately held commercial bank with $701 million in total assets and $482 million in deposits. The bank provides a broad range of traditional community banking and commercial lending services with 18 full-service banking offices located throughout Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
The transaction is valued at $150,250,000 in cash. It will be funded through a variety of sources, including F.N.B.’s internal lines of credit as well as the issuance of Trust Preferred Securities. Due diligence has already been completed. The acquisition, subject to normal regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed at the end of March 2003.
This marks F.N.B. Corporation’s 11th acquisition in Florida since entering that state in 1997. The acquisition of Southern Exchange Bank would be its largest to date in Florida.
F.N.B. Corporation is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Naples, Florida. The company currently has $7.1 billion in total assets. F.N.B. owns and operates community banks, insurance agencies, a consumer finance company and First National Trust Company with offices located in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Tennessee.
Latrobe
College hosts workshop
A free workshop for small business owners interested in learning about contracting opportunities with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be held on April 3 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Saint Vincent College. The workshop is being hosted by the Saint Vincent College Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the Bureau of Contract Administration and Business Development (BCABD), and is co-sponsored by Seton Hill University’s National Education Center for Women in Business (NECWB).
Workshop topics will include locating state contracting opportunities, how the state purchases goods and services, what resources are available for small businesses, how to find and bid on state contracts, and how to obtain certification as a minority-owned and women-owned business. Participants are also invited to attend a one-hour hands-on workshop that will be held immediately following the seminar that will demonstrate the proper procedures for completing paperwork for the state.
Kathy Shirey, of the BCABD, will present the workshop. BCABD is part of the Pennsylvania Department of General Services, the main purchasing branch of state government.
Its main functions are to certify minority-owned businesses, and to help small businesses become involved in state contracting.
To register or to obtain more information, call the Saint Vincent College SBDC at 724-537-4572.
Uniontown
Marketing loan offered
Producers of wool and mohair are eligible to apply for a 9-month, non-recourse marketing assistance loan or a loan deficiency payment (LDP). Producers have until March 31 to request LDPs or loans for the 2002-crop wool and mohair that has not yet been marketed and remain in storage.
A special provision allows producers who sold wool or mohair before Oct. 1l, 2002, to apply for an LDP. Producers must provide production evidence that shows the commodity was sold prior to Oct. 11, 2002.
To be eligible for an LDP or loan, a producer must own the sheep or goats that produced the fiber at least 30 days prior to shearing, produce and shear eligible wool or mohair, actively apply a conservation plan, maintain beneficial interest and is at risk and report crop acreage.
Eligible wool/mohair must be produced by an eligible farmer, in existence and in storable condition, of merchantable quality, and produced and shorn from live animals of domestic origin in the United States.
The loan rate for graded wool is $1 per pound and 40 cents per pound for ungraded wool.
The loan rate for mohair is $4.20 per pound. The LDP rates are announced every Wednesday to reflect the market price of wool and mohair.
LDP rates are calculated by subtracting the posted county price for wool or mohair from the region’s loan rate.
The LDP rate is then multiplied by the pounds of eligible wool or mohair. Wool or mohair that is burned, buried or destroyed by any other means is ineligible for this program.
The adjusted gross income requirement is not applicable for the 2002 wool or mohair crop, but will be required for the 2003-2007 programs.
Contact the Fayette/Greene FSA Office, 10 Nickman Plaza, Lemont Furnace, at 724-437-7971 (Ext. 2) or 724-627-3056 (Ext. 2) for additional information.