CASES
United Western Bancorp, Inc.
Summary of Case:
A securities class action has been filed against United Western Bancorp, Inc. (UWBK) ("Bancorp" or the "Company") on behalf of all persons who acquired the common stock of Bancorp pursuant and/or traceable to a false and misleading registration statement and prospectus (collectively, the "Registration Statement") issued in connection with the Company's September 17, 2009 offering (the "Offering"). This case has been filed in the United States District Court of Colorado.
On September 17, 2009, defendants consummated the Offering pursuant to the false and misleading Registration Statement, selling 20 million shares of Bancorp common stock at $4.00 per share, for proceeds of $80 million. Bancorp received additional gross proceeds of $7.8 million (1,961,325 shares issued at $4.00/share) as a result of the partial exercise of the over-allotment option to purchase additional shares granted to the underwriters. The Registration Statement incorporated, among other documents, Bancorp's reported financial results and 10-K/A for 2008 and the reported financial results and 10-Q for the second quarter of 2009.
The complaint alleges that the true facts which were omitted from the Registration Statement were:
(a) Bancorp's mortgage backed securities ("MBSs") and collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs") were impaired to a far greater extent than the Company had disclosed;
(b) Defendants failed to properly record losses for other than temporary impairment in Bancorp's non-agency MBSs and CMOs;
(c) The Company's internal controls were inadequate to prevent the Company from improperly reporting its impaired assets; and
(d) The Company's capital base was not adequate in light of the impairment of its assets
Bancorp ultimately announced multi-million dollar impairments in its investment securities portfolio, specifically in MBSs and CMOs, causing the price of its common stock to drastically decline. In turn, on January 21, 2011, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") was appointed as receiver for the Bank by the Office of Thrift Supervision under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The FDIC immediately sold the Bank to First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company ("First Citizens") of Raleigh, North Carolina. First Citizens began operating the Bank under a new name commencing on January 24, 2011. Bancorp common stock now trades for about $.02 per share and was delisted from NASDAQ on February 28, 2011.
If you purchased this company's shares during the Class Period and suffered a loss or for further information about the case, please review the links below.