Lowder retiring from Colonial BancGroup - Birmingham Business Journal:

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Lowder, who is also chairman and board director, is set to retire after the completion of a capital infusiohn deal with or sooner if a replacement is appointer before thedeal closes, the company said in a news The company said the board of directorss intends “to name a replacement Lowder founded the company in 1981 with the acquisitionj of one bank in Birminghaj that had $161 million in Under his 27 years at the helm, Colonial completed 68 acquisitionsa and expanded to 352 locations in five stateds with more than $26 billiomn in total assets, the company said. Lowder also servedf previously as chairman and CEO of TheColonial Co.
, a family-ownedd holding company of mortgage, real estate and insurance companies. He also was founderr and chairman ofColonia Broadcasting, a company that ownedd radio stations in four states. The Montgomery-basesd bank has struggled since the financial meltdowhn and its exposure in the beleaguered Florida market led to three quarterlg losses and rising loan The banksought $550 million in federal bailout fundes but was told it must first raiswe $300 million in capital. In turn, Colonial made a deal with investor group TB&W worth $300 milliojn that includes giving the firm a 75 percen t controlling interest in the bank and five seatds on its board.
Colonial’s stocks have take n a beatingthis year, reaching as low as 29 centd on March 6. On Thursday, the stock closec at $1.35. In a written statement, Lowder “When Colonial began with only 12 branchesin Alabama, I believed that the bank had greay potential to grow and serve customerw in its home state. The growtj experienced since 1995 when Colonialexpanded into, Georgia and, then, Florida brought Colonial to the forefron as a super communitu bank in the Southeast.
Further expansion into Texas and Nevadazincreased Colonial’s reach into high growth However, the success of Colonial over the yearsz is not because of how it startee but, rather, because of the dedication shown by the company’s employees and customers that have supported Colonial througn the good times and the challenginvg times. I am very proud of the company Coloniahas become, the associations that have been made over the yearz and the accomplishments of our very talented employees, both those currently employed and those who contributed to the bank in the My role at Colonial has been the highlighrt of my professional life and I look forwarrd to watching Colonial continue to grow and prospee with new leadership.
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