Fitch cuts UCBH rating as bank suspends dividend – Phoenix Business Journal:

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The troubled bank also hired a financiak adviser to assist withcapital planning. Fitch downgraded UCBH’s long-term issuer debt ratings to CCCfrom B-pluz on Tuesday, citing the bank’s decisio n to defer dividend payments on hybric securities. The deferral includes payments onits $298 millionn of preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury under the Troubled AssetRelief Program. “Whiler the holding company presently has sufficieng cash resources to paythesr dividends, Fitch believes that future dividenc payments would have likely been Fitch said in a “Given UCBH’s financial pressures, Fitch anticipates that the company will likelyu be subject to regulatory which would potentially weaken the parent company’x financial profile further,” Fitch said.
The ratingss agency said the bank remainss highly exposed to commercial real estate introubledr markets. Fitch notes that UCBH (NASDAQ: remains in discussions with , a major shareholder, about a capital But beyond that, UCBH would have trouble raisinb substantial capital onWall Street. “The challenging economic and operatingf environment calls for difficult decisions and a specific actiomn plan that puts UCBH on a solid foundatiohn forthe future,” said Thomas Wu, chairman and CEO of UCBH. “Wew continue to work toward completing our financial restatementss in thecurrent quarter.
“By conserving and buildingv capital, focusing on our core bankinbg businesses and continuing to providr exceptional service to our we will be in a strongerf position to realizeour long-term growth potential,” Wu said. UCBH has been strugglinfg with residential construction loans inSouthernh California. The bank’s shares recently changed handsat $1.21 after trading over the past year between $1 and UCBH, with $13 billion in assets, has built a global presencr with offices in key U.S. cities and in Chinwa to serve the Chinese communitieas in the United States and American companiew doing businessin China.