LOCAL BUSINESS
CFBank parent reports losses
Central Federal Corp., parent company of CFBank, reported losses for its most recent quarter and year-to-date figures, but new management said the company is focusing on cleaning up the bank’s problems and positioning it for profitability.
The Fairlawn company with branches in Fairlawn, Worthington, Calcutta and Wellsville, said its net loss for the quarter ending Sept. 30 was $1.9 million, compared to a net loss of $435,000 a year ago. The increase in the net loss, the company said, was primarily attributable to a $766,00 increase in foreclosed assets expense, a $321,000 decrease in net interest income, a $244,000 decrease in noninterest income and a $138,000 increase in the provision for loan losses during the current year.
For the nine months ending Sept. 30, the company’s net loss was $3.3 million, compared to a $4.1 million loss a year ago.
“While there will still be some issues to work through ... we continue to believe that we have a solid foundation, and that we will have a strongly capitalized, growing and increasingly profitable bank as our plans are fully implemented,” said Tim O’Dell, chief executive officer.
O’Dell highlighted the performance of two new experienced business bankers, an increase in residential lending and a new deposit campaign, which has netted 70 new relationships.
FirstMerit declares dividend
FirstMerit Corp. announced a quarterly cash dividend of 16 cents a share, payable Dec. 17 to shareholders of record Nov. 26.
UTILITIES
PUCO chief to resign Dec. 31
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Commissioner Cheryl Roberto announced that she will resign Dec. 31. Roberto was appointed to the PUCO by former Gov. Ted Strickland in 2008. Her term was to expire next April. She did not give a reason for her resignation.
ENERGY
Utica shale’s worth cited
Two energy company chief executive officers defended the oil potential of Ohio’s Utica shale.
The comments came from Texas-based EnerVest CEO John Walker and Oklahoma-based Gulfport Energy Corp. CEO James Palm and appeared to contradict earlier comments by Cheasapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon.
Walker and Palm spoke on Wednesday at a shale conference in Pittsburgh.
Walker said he believed the Utica shale under eastern Ohio will produce significant oil “once we get the right completion method,” according to the Wheeling Intelligencer and the Marcellus Drilling News.
He acknowledged that his view is different from McClendon’s.
McClendon told investors earlier this week that his Oklahoma-based company, the No. 1 player in the Utica shale, does not expect big oil returns but is satisfied with the natural gas and natural gas liquids like ethane, butane and propane that it is getting from its Ohio wells.
ECONOMY
Dow, mortgage rates down
A day after closing at its lowest level since June, the Dow Jones industrial average fell for the fourth straight day, shedding 28.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 12,542.38.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished down for its third day in a row, declining 2.16 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 1,353.33.
The Nasdaq composite closed in negative territory for the fourth day in a row, falling 9.87 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,836.94.
Meanwhile, mortgage guarantor Freddie Mac reported the average rate on the 30-year loan dipped to 3.34 percent, the lowest on records dating to 1971. That’s down from 3.40 percent last week and the previous record low of 3.36 percent reached last month.
Compiled from staff and wire reports