Fidelity Bank set to go public; here's when it will start trading
10/17/2024
By: Stephanie Riegel, Staff Writer NOLA.com
Federal regulators have approved Fidelity Bank’s conversion from a mutual bank to a stock-owned bank corporation, clearing the way for the bank’s shares to trade publicly next week.
FB Bancorp, the Louisiana bank’s new holding company, is expected to begin trading Wednesday on the NASDAQ under the symbol FBLA, the bank announced Thursday. The company plans to initially raise $198.4 million from the sale of nearly 19.9 million shares of the stock, which will have an initial public offering price of $10 per share.
Chartered in 1908, Fidelity has 18 full-service branches across southeast Louisiana, $1.1 billion in assets, and $769 million in deposits.
Fidelity said earlier this year it plans to use the money from its stock offering to diversify its loan portfolio, expand activity in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, and look to acquire other banks or branch offices.
Federal regulations prohibit a newly converted bank from acquiring another institution for three years.
Fidelity was one of three mutual banks that filed paperwork earlier this year seeking to demutualize. Of the others, Algiers-based Fifth District finalized its IPO in July. Metairie-based Mutual Savings and Loan has yet to be finalized.
At the time, experts said one of the likely drivers behind the change is market pressure that small banks are facing when it comes to mortgage lending. Other factors potentially motivating the banks to convert are the current valuation of bank stocks across the nation, the rising costs of technology and increasingly complex regulations.