NEW ORLEANS, March 4, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Whitney Holding Corporation (Nasdaq:WTNY) today declared a quarterly common dividend for the first quarter of 2009 of $.01 per common share down from 2008's fourth quarter rate of $.20 per common share.
"This dividend reduction is the latest step in updating our overall capital management plan and will better position the Company to evaluate different alternatives for both preserving and building capital," said John C. Hope, III, Chairman and CEO. "Typically our quarterly dividend decisions reflect our attempt to balance the need to protect capital with the desire to continue providing a source of income to many of our shareholders. However, given the current national economic distress and uncertainty, coupled with the projected challenges facing our country, the ultimate driver in our decision to reduce the dividend this quarter was an overriding need to preserve capital."
The reduction in the quarterly dividend would preserve approximately $52 million of capital on an annual basis and would add approximately 45 basis points to the Company's tangible common equity ratio. The tangible common equity ratio was 6.49% at December 31, 2008. The first quarter common dividend is payable on April 1, 2009 to shareholders of record as of March 18, 2009.
Whitney Holding Corporation, through its banking subsidiary Whitney National Bank, serves the five-state Gulf Coast region stretching from Houston, Texas; across southern Louisiana and the coastal region of Mississippi; to central and south Alabama; the panhandle of Florida; and the Tampa Bay metropolitan area of Florida.
(WTNY-D)
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This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined by federal securities laws. Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward looking statements. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management, including future dividend decisions. Actual results could differ materially from current projections and expectations for many reasons, including without limitation, changing events and trends that have influenced Whitney's assumptions, but are beyond Whitney's control. Forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgment of Whitney's senior management based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Please refer to Whitney's filings with the SEC (and available at www.SEC.gov) for a summary of important factors that could affect Whitney's financial results and operations and its forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Whitney does not intend to and assumes no responsibility for updating or revising any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Whitney Holding Corporation
Trisha Voltz Carlson
504/299-5208
tcarlson@whitneybank.com
