Eagle Bancorp CFO Faces SEC Probe

Eagle Bancorp CFO Charles Levingston seems to have the guidance of the company’s board as he faces a attainable enforcement motion by the U.S. Securities and Trade Commission.

The SEC has indicated its personnel manufactured a preliminary willpower to recommend prices towards Levingston by sending him a so-named Wells observe. The guardian company of EagleBank disclosed the observe Wednesday in an earnings release.

But Eagle Bancorp CEO Susan Riel said Thursday that the board experienced determined to have Levingston continue to provide as CFO.

“The board’s leading precedence is, as it often has been, to act in the best interest of the company and the company’s stockholders, and we, and the board, keep on being assured in the company’s disclosure controls, accuracy of its fiscal reporting, and the professionalism of the company’s finance perform and personnel,” she said in an earnings simply call.

Levingston has been with the Bethesda, Md., bank because 2012 and beforehand labored as a bank examiner for the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Philadelphia.

The earnings release did not specify what allegations Levingston may possibly be struggling with but said he experienced gained the Wells observe in connection with an SEC investigation that Eagle to start with disclosed in July 2019.

The bank has “initiated discussions with the personnel about a possible resolution or settlement of the staff’s investigation with respect to the company” and “any existing staff and directors,” the release said.

According to American Banker, the SEC has been investigating Eagle’s ties to previous District of Columbia Councilman Jack Evans, who allegedly lobbied for laws that would be favorable to Eagle following the bank employed him as a advisor. He also owned Eagle shares.

Eagle’s co-founder and previous CEO Ron Paul abruptly retired in March 2019, citing overall health problems.

“The company thinks [the investigation] relate[s] to the company’s identification, classification and disclosure of related party transactions the retirement of selected previous officers and directors and the marriage of the company and selected of its previous officers and directors with a community community official, amongst other issues,” the earnings release stated.

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Charles Levingston, Eagle Bancorp, enforcement motion, Susan Riel, Wells observe