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Stan Puckett, 53, will step down March 31 as chairman and CEO of Green Bankshares and its subsidiary, GreenBank. During 21 years as CEO, Puckett oversaw a seven-branch lender's transformation into the third-largest bank headquartered in Tennessee. The parent company has more than $2 billion in assets and shares that are traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
"I am excited about the future of GreenBank and confident about the abilities of our management team," Puckett said in a news release. "I am grateful for the support I have received and thankful for the friendships formed with associates, directors and customers. My commitment and loyalty to the company will always remain firm."
The move took some company observers by surprise. Bruce Campbell, a Green Bankshares director, said Wednesday that the planned retirement was "totally (Puckett's) decision" but indicated that the board had thought Puckett's tenure might be longer. Asked when they were expecting a retirement, he said, "We were much more pointed towards 2011, 2012, that time period."
Asked if Puckett gave a reason for the move, Campbell said, "Nothing specific, other than saying he felt the time was right."
The company lost more than $150 million in the second quarter, largely because of a goodwill impairment charge of $137.4 million. Green Bankshares stock also has lost ground this year, falling from $13.54 a share at the end of 2008 to 5.43 at the close of business Wednesday. That's actually an improvement compared to earlier this summer, though, when shares had fallen as low as $3.25.
Brady Gailey, an analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said the recent run-up was driven by Puckett's comments following the company's second-quarter earnings announcement, including his assessment that the company didn't need new capital and that nonperforming assets were close to a peak.
On Wednesday, GreenBank shares fell by more than 11 percent, and Gailey said that "there's just a lot of uncertainty about if the statements that he made previously are going to happen."
Gailey said he spoke with Puckett on Wednesday. "I think that he is just looking to enjoy retirement at a young age, and you know just enjoy time with his wife. ... It does not appear to be any sort of, you know, firing or any sort of (situation where) the board asked him to leave, or anything like that," the analyst said.
KBW either expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services from Green Bankshares during the next three months.
In a news release, Campbell said the company's board planned to hire an executive recruiting firm to begin a CEO search, with a goal of having a successor in place before Puckett's retirement.
Gailey highlighted the company's president and chief operating officer, Kenneth Vaught, as a possible candidate. "If it's an internal guy, it's going to be Kent Vaught," the analyst said. Vaught also is a member of the company's board.
GreenBank also has ties to the troubled real estate empire of Maryville developer Mike Ross. Last month, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that the bank was the winning bidder at a foreclosure auction for most of Rarity Club, a waterfront project in Marion County.
The paper reported that GreenBank took a similar foreclosure action in May at Rarity Rivers, a project in Meigs County. "Mr. Ross has declined repeated requests to discuss his development," the story said. "But in an e-mail message, he noted that he still has development rights at Rarity Rivers."
Business writer Josh Flory may be reached at 865-342-6994.
To see more of The Knoxville News-Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.knoxnews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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