Bank Mutual launches new stock repurchase plan

Milwaukee-based Bank Mutual Corp. announced that its board approved a ninth stock repurchase program whereby the company may repurchase up to 1 million shares of its common stock, or 2.2 percent of its currently outstanding shares.
The new repurchase program does not specify the timing of purchases or the prices to be paid.
Since its conversion to a fully-shareholder owned company in October 2003, Bank Mutual has repurchased 35.6 million shares of its common stock. Only 24,700 shares remain to be repurchased under Bank Mutual’s previous 1 million share authorization, which was announced on Feb. 2, 2009.
The company’s board also has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 7 cents per share.
Michael Crowley Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Bank Mutual, said, "The board set the dividend rate in light of an evolving regulatory environment that is becoming stricter, our results over the past several quarters, the current marketplace, and the desire to maintain a strong capital position."
Crowley added, "While we believe that it is appropriate to set a dividend in an amount that is better aligned to current conditions, we also continue to believe that it is in the best interests of Bank Mutual and its shareholders to maintain our flexibility to repurchase shares in appropriate circumstances to help maintain capital at an appropriate level. We are also mindful of the stock price of Bank Mutual’s common stock which is now below book value."
Bank Mutual’s stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol BKMU. The company is the fifth-largest banking institution headquartered in the state of Wisconsin, with assets of $3.56 billion.