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8-K - CURRENT REPORT - PEOPLES BANCORP OF NORTH CAROLINA INC | pebk_8k.htm |
Exhibit
99(a)
NEWS RELEASE
March
3, 2021
Contact:
Lance
A. Sellers
President
and Chief Executive Officer
Jeffrey
N. Hooper
Executive
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
828-464-5620,
Fax 828-465-6780
For Immediate Release
PEOPLES BANCORP ANNOUNCES AUTHORIZATION OF STOCK REPURCHASE
PLAN
Peoples
Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEBK), the parent company
of Peoples Bank, Newton, NC announced today that its Board of
Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan, whereby up to
$4.0 million will be allocated to repurchase the Company’s
common stock. At December 31, 2020, the Company had assets of $1.4
billion and stockholder’s equity of $139.9
million.
Any
purchases under the Company’s repurchase plan may be made
periodically as permitted by securities laws and other legal
requirements in the open market or in privately-negotiated
transactions. The timing and amount of any repurchase of shares
will be determined by the Company’s management, based on its
evaluation of market conditions and other factors. The repurchase
plan may be suspended at any time or from time-to-time without
prior notice.
“The
Board’s decision to repurchase stock was based on the
strength of the Company’s balance sheet and capital position.
We believe this is an appropriate way to utilize capital and
enhance shareholder value,” said Lance Sellers, President and
Chief Executive Officer.
Peoples
Bank currently operates 18 banking offices entirely in North
Carolina, with offices in Catawba, Alexander, Lincoln, Mecklenburg,
Iredell and Wake Counties. The Bank also operates loan production
offices in Lincoln and Mecklenburg Counties. The Company’s
common stock is publicly traded and is quoted on the Nasdaq Global
Market under the symbol “PEBK.”
Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning
historical information, should be considered forward-looking
statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties and are based on the beliefs and assumptions of
management and on the information available to management at the
time that this release was prepared. These statements can be
identified by the use of words like “expect,”
“anticipate,” “estimate,” and
“believe,” variations of these words and other similar
expressions. Readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could
cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ include, but are not limited to, (1) competition in the
markets served by Peoples Bank, (2) changes in the interest rate
environment, (3) general national, regional or local economic
conditions may be less favorable than expected, resulting in, among
other things, a deterioration in credit quality and the possible
impairment of collectibility of loans, (4) legislative or
regulatory changes, including changes in accounting standards, (5)
significant changes in the federal and state legal and regulatory
environment and tax laws, (6) the impact of changes in monetary and
fiscal policies, laws, rules and regulations and (7) other risks
and factors identified in the Company’s other filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited
to those described in the Company’s annual report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.