NEW YORK, May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets
Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial marketplaces for
10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced the first banks
to trade on the OTCQX® marketplace under a new streamlined
qualification process for U.S. community and regional banks. The
announcement expands the OTCQX marketplace for U.S. and
international companies and distinguishes publicly-traded community
and regional banks that are strongly-capitalized, transparent in
their news and disclosure and committed to enhancing value for
their shareholders.
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"We are thrilled to welcome our first banks to the OTCQX
marketplace," said R. Cromwell
Coulson, President and CEO of OTC Markets Group. "Since its
launch in 2007, OTCQX has provided established U.S. and
international companies an informed and efficient public trading
market and OTCQX companies have distinguished themselves with
investors through a combination of rigorous qualitative and
quantitative financial standards, wide distribution of their news
and financial disclosure and third-party sponsorship. Now that
OTCQX is open to serving the unique needs of strong,
well-capitalized U.S. banks, they can leverage their existing
regulatory reporting requirements and the OTCQX marketplace to
increase their profile with investors nationwide."
Banks that commence trading today on OTCQX are:
- Calvin B. Taylor Bankshares, Inc. (OTCQX: TYCB) – The
company, through its wholly owned bank subsidiary, operates a full
service commercial bank in the coastal resort areas of Worcester County, Maryland and Sussex County, Delaware. StockCross Financial
Services, Inc. is the Corporate Broker for Calvin B. Taylor
Bankshares.
- Cortland Bancorp (OTCQX: CLDB) – Cortland Bancorp is a
financial holding company headquartered in Cortland, Ohio. Founded in 1892, the
company's bank subsidiary, The Cortland Savings and Banking
Company, conducts business through 12 full-service community
banking offices located in the counties of Trumbull, Mahoning, Portage, and Ashtabula in Northeastern Ohio. Boenning
& Scattergood, Inc. is the Corporate Broker for Cortland
Bancorp.
- First BancTrust Corp. (OTCQX: FIRT) – Headquartered in
Paris, IL, First BancTrust is a
financial holding company whose principal activity is the ownership
and management of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, First Bank &
Trust, s.b., ECS Service Corp., and First Charter Service Corp.
FBTC Statutory Trust I is an unconsolidated wholly-owned
subsidiary of the company. FIG Partners LLC is the Corporate Broker
for First BancTrust.
- First ULB Corp. (OTCQX: FUBP) – First ULB Corp. is a
thrift holding company headquartered in Oakland, California, and the parent of United
Labor Bank, F.S.B., a commercial community bank offering
personalized services and products to meet the demands of today's
small and medium-sized businesses. McAdams Wright Ragen, Inc.
("MWR") is the Corporate Broker for First ULB.
- Harleysville Savings Financial Corp. (OTCQX: HARL) –
Harleysville Savings Financial is the holding company for
Harleysville Savings Bank. Established in 1915, Harleysville
Savings Bank is a Pennsylvania-chartered and federally insured
savings bank, headquartered in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. Boenning
& Scattergood is the Corporate Broker for Harleysville Savings
Financial.
- Katahdin Bankshares Corp. (OTCQX: KTHN) – Katahdin
Bankshares is a bank holding company. Its subsidiary,
Katahdin Trust Company, is a Maine
state-chartered, commercial bank established in 1918. The
bank has 19 full service branches throughout Aroostook and Penobscot counties and the Scarborough area. StockCross Financial
Services is the Corporate Broker for Katahdin Bankshares.
- Standard Financial Corp. (OTCQX: STND) – Standard
Financial is the parent company of Standard Bank, a Pennsylvania-chartered savings bank which
operates offices serving individuals and small to mid-sized
businesses in Allegheny,
Westmoreland and Bedford Counties in Pennsylvania and Allegany County in Maryland. Standard Bank is a member of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and an Equal Housing
Lender. Keefe, Bruyette and Woods, Inc. ("KBW") is the
Corporate Broker for Standard Financial.
- Virginia National Bankshares Corp. (OTCQX: VABK) –
Headquartered in Charlottesville,
Virginia, Virginia National Bankshares is the bank holding
company for Virginia National Bank,
a commercial bank with seven banking offices located in
Central Virginia. The bank
offers investment management and trust services under the trade
name of VNB Wealth Management through its subsidiary, VNB Trust,
N.A. MWR is the Corporate Broker for Virginia National
Bankshares.
To qualify for OTCQX, banks must meet high quantitative and
qualitative financials standards, be current in their reporting to
a bank regulator and, if applicable, the SEC, and appoint a
"Corporate Broker," a FINRA member broker-dealer specializing in
trading in and advising banks, to provide guidance on the trading
of their stock and access to institutional investors, trading
expertise and wealth management services.
The following firms have been approved to serve as Corporate
Brokers for banks on OTCQX:
- Boenning & Scattergood, an independent securities, asset
management and investment banking firm serving the Mid-Atlantic and
Midwest
- D.A. Davidson & Co., a
full-service investment firm whose division Crowell, Weedon &
Co. has been serving the financial needs of banks in the Western
U.S. for more than 80 years
- FIG Partners, an employee-owned broker-dealer specializing in
financial institutions
- KBW, a full-service, boutique investment bank and broker-dealer
and wholly-owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:
SF)
- MWR, a majority employee-owned investment firm headquartered in
the Pacific Northwest
- StockCross Financial Services, a discount and full-service
financial brokerage firm and market maker with offices
nationwide.
"We are pleased with the applications and interest we have
received from banks and broker-dealers about OTCQX and believe this
indicates a tremendous market opportunity for small banks and their
shareholders," continued Coulson. "We look forward to working
with all of our approved banks and Corporate Brokers as we build a
robust public trading market for U.S. community and regional banks
and their shareholders."
About OTC Markets Group Inc.
OTC Markets Group Inc.
(OTCQX: OTCM) operates Open, Transparent and Connected financial
marketplaces for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through our OTC
Link® ATS, we directly link a diverse network of broker-dealers
that provide liquidity and execution services for a wide spectrum
of securities. We organize these securities into marketplaces to
better inform investors of opportunities and risks – OTCQX®, The
Best Marketplace; OTCQB®, The Venture Stage Marketplace; and OTC
Pink®, The Open Marketplace. Our data-driven platform enables
investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice at the
best possible price and empowers a broad range of companies to
improve the quality and availability of information for their
investors. To learn more about how we create better informed and
more efficient financial marketplaces, visit
www.otcmarkets.com.
OTC Link ATS is operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and
SEC regulated ATS.
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SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.