Another bank has unloaded its holdings in trust preferred collateralized debt obligations as a result of the Volcker Rule.
WashingtonFirst Bankshares in Reston, Va, said in a press release today that it liquidated its investment in a single CDO on Dec. 19 for $700,000, or $1.4 million below its book value. The sale will result in an after-tax charge of approximately $900,00, or 12 cents a share, to the company’s fourth quarter net income.
WashingtonFirst sold the securities “because of uncertainty regarding the future accounting implications of such investment under the revised, final version” of the Volcker Rule released Dec. 10.
The $1.1 billion asset bank had purchased the securities in 2007 and classified them as “available for sale.”
It said the sale resulted in an after-tax increased in its stockholders equity of $400,000, or 5 cents per share.
In the two weeks since the Volcker Rule was issued, lenders including BankUnited, Zions and Cape Bancorp have said they would be forced to sell portfolios of structured asset-backed securities to comply with the rule.
