Capital Bank Financial Corporation was a bank holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina with $10 billion in assets as of first quarter 2017 and 193 branches. Former Bank of America vice chairman Gene Taylor was chief executive, former Bank of America executive and Fifth Third Bank CFO, Chris Marshall was CFO and former Bank of America executive, R. Bruce Singletary was Chief Risk Officer. Former Morgan Stanley specialty finance research analyst, Kenneth Posner, managed corporate strategy and investor relations. North American Financial Holdings (NAFH) original purpose was to take over banks that had difficulties due to the financial crisis of 2007–2010. The company's main interest was banks in the Carolinas and Florida, but in 2011, NAFH moved into Tennessee and Virginia. Despite buying seven distressed, money losing banks, NAFH's Capital Bank was consistently profitable during the duration of its existence and consistently posted improved returns for each of its five years of operations. Capital Bank completed a successful IPO in September 2012, and used to trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker CBF until its acquisition by First Horizon National Corporation in December 2017.
History
North American Financial Holdings
In December 2009, NAFH raised $900 million from such sources as private equity firms Crestview Partners, Oak Hill Advisors and Falfurrias Capital Partners. In March 2010 the OCC granted NAFH a national bank charter, and the search began for banks to acquire.
On June 29, 2010, Naples, Florida-based TIB Financial Corp., parent of TIB Bank and Naples Capital Advisors, announced that NAFH had agreed to invest $175 million in the company. Over the next 18 months, NAFH would have the right to invest $175 million more. The deal was completed in third quarter 2010.
As of July 16, 2010, NAFH owned MetroBank of Dade County, Florida; Turnberry Bank of Aventura, Florida; and First National Bank of the South in Spartanburg, South Carolina. These four banks, after approval of the TIB deal, give NAFH $3.1 billion in assets, and 10 branches in the Miami, Florida area and 13 in South Carolina, plus 28 more branches in southwest Florida with the completion of the TIB deal. NAFH did not pay for the three banks it already owns, but instead divided loan losses with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Hugh McColl, co-founder of Falfurrias and former Bank of America CEO, predicted NAFH would have $20 billion in assets in five to seven years.
As of March 31, 2010, MetroBank had $442.3 million in assets with $391.3 million in deposits. Turnberry Bank had $263.9 million in assets with $196.9 million in deposits. First National had $682.0 million in assets and deposits totalling $610.1 million.
Capital Bank
On December 16, 2010, shareholders of Raleigh, North Carolina-based Capital Bank approved selling a majority interest to NAFH, which would buy newly issued stock rather than stock from existing shareholders. Capital Bank began in 1997 as the Triangle's first new bank in eight years, after raising $26 million, the most for a new bank in the state's history. By 2005, after expansion and buying other banks, Capital had $915 million in assets, and by 2010, assets had reached $1.7 billion. The Late-2000s recession hurt Capital, and regulators expected the bank to act. At one time, selling new stock was considered. Finally, Capital chose to accept help from NAFH. The deal originally depended on NAFH being able to get a 50 percent discount on preferred stock and warrants held by the U.S. Treasury as a result of the federal stimulus. However, in a January 18, 2011 interview, Capital CEO Grant Yarber said the federal government would get all its money back.
On January 28, 2011, NAFH completed its $181 million deal for 85 percent of Capital. NAFH CEO Gene Taylor became CEO of Capital, replacing Yarber, whose new title was market president for North Carolina.
All NAFH-owned banks continued to operate separately but the company announced its intention to re-brand the banks as Capital Bank. Capital had 32 branches before the deal, but after adding the four other NAFH banks, the total was 84. Capital kept its Raleigh headquarters. When the deal was closed, North American's banks had more than $5 billion in assets, placing them among the nations top 125 banks.