Eagle Bancorp CFO Faces SEC Probe
Eagle Bancorp CFO Charles Levingston appears to have the guidance of the company’s board as he faces a possible enforcement action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC has indicated its personnel manufactured a preliminary perseverance to endorse fees towards Levingston by sending him a so-referred to as Wells discover. The guardian corporation of EagleBank disclosed the discover Wednesday in an earnings release.
But Eagle Bancorp CEO Susan Riel stated Thursday that the board experienced resolved to have Levingston keep on to serve as CFO.
“The board’s top rated precedence is, as it constantly has been, to act in the ideal interest of the corporation and the company’s stockholders, and we, and the board, stay self-assured in the company’s disclosure controls, precision of its economical reporting, and the professionalism of the company’s finance purpose and staff,” she stated in an earnings call.
Levingston has been with the Bethesda, Md., financial institution due to the fact 2012 and beforehand labored as a financial institution examiner for the Federal Reserve Financial institutions of Atlanta and Philadelphia.
The earnings release did not specify what allegations Levingston might be struggling with but stated he experienced obtained the Wells discover in link with an SEC investigation that Eagle initially disclosed in July 2019.
The financial institution has “initiated discussions with the personnel about a prospective resolution or settlement of the staff’s investigation with respect to the company” and “any present workers and directors,” the release stated.
In accordance to American Banker, the SEC has been investigating Eagle’s ties to former District of Columbia Councilman Jack Evans, who allegedly lobbied for laws that would be favorable to Eagle after the financial institution hired him as a consultant. He also owned Eagle shares.
Eagle’s co-founder and former CEO Ron Paul abruptly retired in March 2019, citing wellness problems.
“The corporation thinks [the investigation] relate[s] to the company’s identification, classification and disclosure of associated bash transactions the retirement of particular former officers and directors and the romance of the corporation and particular of its former officers and directors with a area public formal, amongst other items,” the earnings release stated.