Milwaukee-based Guaranty Bank, with 161 branches in five states and six branches in Madison, has received a “prompt corrective action” order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) urging it to shore up its finances. The order says Guaranty Bank is significantly undercapitalized and must take immediate corrective action. Among the OCC’s specific orders: Guaranty must hire an OCC-approved, full-time CFO, create a two-year strategic plan by the end of May, and obtain OCC approval before it can sell or transfer any bank assets worth over $250,000 or before it signs any contracts with a third party to sell, merge, or recapitalize the bank.
In December 2013, 15.3% of Guaranty’s loans were behind on payments, an increase from 11.9% in 2012. The bank was still under a “cease-and-desist” order issued in 2009, and a capital restoration plan the bank submitted in 2012 was rejected, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal.
