Start-up bank in Toledo gains key approval

12/18/2001

Signature Bancorp, Inc., a Toledo-area start-up bank holding company, has raised $20 million in its recent stock offering and has received a key regulatory approval.

The company received the OK from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to apply for approval from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Richard Brunner, chairman and chief executive officer, said yesterday.

Signature's investment offering had too many takers, garnering $22.5 million, but the terms permit $20 million maximum, so some potential shareholders have been notified they will not receive initial shares, Mr. Brunner said.

Signature, announced in June by six former officers of Sylvania's Capital Bancorp, Inc., offered its stock at $20 a share, with a minimum investment of $25,000 and a maximum of $1 million per investor.

The company expects to begin renovation soon on a building at 4607 West Sylvania Ave. in Toledo, for its headquarters and banking office for a spring opening, he said.