UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

_______________________

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):

July 21, 2009

FIRST BUSEY CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (217) 365-4516

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

 

On Tuesday, July 21, 2009, the Registrant issued a press release disclosing financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. The press release is made part of this Form and is attached as Exhibit 99.1.

 

The press release made a part of this Form includes forward looking statements that are intended to be covered by the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward looking statements include but are not limited to comments with respect to the objectives and strategies, financial condition, results of operations and business of the Registrant.

 

These forward looking statements involve numerous assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and the risk that predictions and other forward looking statements will not be achieved. The Registrant cautions you not to place undue reliance on these forward looking statements as a number of important factors could cause actual future results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward looking statements.

 

ITEM 8.01 OTHER EVENTS

 

The Registrant also announced it will pay a dividend of $0.08 per common share on July 24, 2009 to shareholders of record as of Tuesday, July 21, 2009.

 

ITEM 9.01 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

 

 

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

By: /s/ Barbara J. Harrington

 

First Busey Announces Second Quarter 2009 Loss, Pre-provision Profit and Dividend Payment

 

Message from our President & CEO

 

Urbana, IL - First Busey Corporation’s (Nasdaq: BUSE) consolidated net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 was $20.5 million, or $0.57 per fully-diluted common share, compared to net income of $4.6 million, or $0.13 per fully-diluted common share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. On a year-to-date basis, consolidated net loss was $15.0 million, or $0.42 per fully-diluted share in 2009 as compared to net income of $14.6 million, or $0.41 per fully-diluted share in 2008.

 

The decline in net income was primarily due to increased provision for loan losses. We recorded $47.5 million in provision for loan losses in the second quarter of 2009 as compared to $12.3 million in the same period of 2008. Year-to-date, our provision for loan losses was $57.5 million, as compared to $14.5 million in 2008. Additionally, downward pressure on the net interest margin primarily attributable to lost interest income on non-accrual loans and loans charged-off, and increased FDIC insurance have negatively affected our earnings.

 

Our Illinois markets continue to perform remarkably well. Our credit challenges are primarily within our Indianapolis and Florida markets. In Illinois, the non-performing loans/ loans ratio is 1.1% ($25.5 million/$2.31 billion), whereas the ratio is 6.1% ($11.2 million/$182.1 million) in Indiana and 13.6% ($90.4 million/$0.67 billion) in Florida. Additionally, more than half of our Illinois non-performing loans consist of two relationships that we believe to have fully provided for the potential losses.

 

Our core market is performing very well and we are executing the operational discipline necessary to return to solid profitability levels once we emerge from our credit issues. A review of our core operating results (pre-tax, pre-provision operating profit), follows:

 

 

 

As noted in our first quarter earnings release, we are committed to the priorities of Balance Sheet Strength, Profitabilityand Growth—in that order. While significant provisioning certainly impacts our current earnings position, our priority is to emerge from these challenging economic times equipped to capitalize on profitable growth opportunities. While we believe to have adequately provided for our loan losses to date, as noted in our past releases and discussed at our 2008 and 2009 shareholder meetings, we expected to experience larger than normal levels of nonperforming assets in 2008 and throughout 2009. We are not finished with the issues within our loan portfolio; you can expect additional provisioning in the future.

 

Despite the earnings challenges, our banks are well-capitalized. Our holding company and our banks exceed the regulatory definition of well-capitalized, the highest regulatory standard. In addition to working to maintain our strong capital position, we have remained focused on liquidity. We have reduced our non-deposit funding by $90.9 million since December 31, 2008, including paying down of $32 million of debt at our holding company. Our non-interest bearing deposits have increased $80.6 million over the same period. Although our cash position has declined by $99.3 million, interest-bearing deposits were reduced by $243.3 million since December 31, 2008, most of which were higher cost certificates-of-deposit.

 

On July 24, 2009, we will pay a dividend of $0.08 per common share to shareholders of record on July 21, 2009. We analyzed this dividend payment decision very carefully to ensure it was consistent with our capital plan and our earnings. Although we recorded a net loss for the quarter, our core operating results and current capital position supported the dividend payment. We will continue to review the dividend payment in subsequent quarters.

 

The Busey Strategy is built upon fulfilling The Busey Promise to our four pillars -- customers, associates, communities and shareholders. We will grow by successfully executing our mission of exceeding the service needs of our customers, investing in our associates and communities and delivering long-term value to you, our shareholders. Busey associates not only possess significant financial expertise, but positive attitudes and commitment to an extra-ordinary service philosophy. This combination allows us to remain customer-focused and retain market share despite challenging economic times. We thank our associates for their efforts, our customers for their business and our shareholders for their continued support of Busey.

 

As always, your input and questions are welcome.

 

\s\ Van A. Dukeman

 

 

Corporate Profile

 

First Busey Corporation is a $4.3 billion financial holding company headquartered in Urbana, Illinois. First Busey Corporation has two wholly-owned banks with locations in three states. Busey Bank is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois and has thirty-four banking centers serving downstate Illinois. Busey Bank has a banking center in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a loan production office in Fort Myers, Florida. As of June 30, 2009, Busey Bank had total assets of $3.8 billion. Busey Bank, N.A. is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, with eight banking centers serving southwest Florida. Busey Bank, N.A. had total assets of $420.1 million as of June 30, 2009.

 

Busey Wealth Management is a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Busey Corporation. Through Busey Trust Company, Busey Wealth Management delivers trust, asset management, retail brokerage and insurance products and services. As of June 30, 2009, Busey Wealth Management had approximately $3.1 billion in assets under care.

 

First Busey Corporation owns a retail payment processing subsidiary, FirsTech, Inc., which processes over 32 million transactions per year through online bill payments, lockbox processing and walk-in payments through its 4,700 agent locations in 40 states.

 

Busey provides electronic delivery of financial services through our website, www.busey.com.

 

Contact:

 

Barbara J. Harrington, CFO

217-365-4516

 

 

 

Special Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This document may contain, forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business of the Company. Forward-looking

 

statements, which may be based upon beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the Company’s management and on information currently available to management, are generally identifiable by the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should” or other similar expressions. Additionally, all statements in this document, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events. A number of factors, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in its forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the following: (i) the strength of the local and national economy; (ii) the economic impact of any future terrorist threats or attacks; (iii) changes in state and federal laws, regulations and governmental policies concerning the Company’s general business; (iv) changes in interest rates and prepayment rates of the Company’s assets; (v) increased competition in the financial services sector and the inability to attract new customers; (vi) changes in technology and the ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; (vii) the loss of key executives or employees; (viii) changes in consumer spending; (ix) unexpected results of acquisitions; (x) unexpected outcomes of existing or new litigation involving the Company; and (xi) changes in accounting policies and practices. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Additional information concerning the Company and its business, including additional factors that could materially affect the Company’s financial results, is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.