UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 1, 2011


PATHFINDER BANCORP, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Commission File Number
000-23601

Federal
16-1540137
(State or Other Jurisdiction of
Incorporation or Organization)
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

214 West First Street, Oswego, NY 13126
(Address of Principal Executive Office) (Zip Code)

(315) 343-0057
(Registrant’s Telephone Number including area code)

Not Applicable
Former Name or Former Address, If Changed Since Last Report


Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the Registrant under any of the following provisions:


 
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
 
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
 
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
 
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c)  under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))


 
 

 

Section 1 – Registrant’s Business and Operations

Item 1.01.            Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

On September 1, 2011, Pathfinder Bancorp., Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with the Secretary of the Treasury (the “Treasury”), pursuant to which the Company issued and sold to the Treasury 13,000 shares of its Senior Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series B (“Series B Preferred Stock”), having a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share (the “Liquidation Amount”), for aggregate proceeds of $13,000,000.    The Securities Purchase Agreement was entered into, and the Series B Preferred Stock was issued, pursuant to the Treasury’s Small Business Lending Fund program (“SBLF”), a $30 billion fund established under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, that encourages lending to small businesses by providing capital to qualified community banks with assets of less than $10 billion. 

The Company’s rights and obligations with respect to the Series B Preferred Stock are set forth in the Securities Purchase Agreement and the Certificate of Designation filed by the Company with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on August 31, 2011.  Those rights and obligations are summarized below.

The Series B Preferred Stock is entitled to receive non-cumulative dividends payable quarterly, on each January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, beginning October 1, 2011.  The dividend rate, which is calculated on the aggregate Liquidation Amount, has been initially set at 4.2% per annum based upon the current level of “Qualified Small Business Lending”, or “QSBL” (as defined in the Securities Purchase Agreement) by the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary Pathfinder Bank (the “Bank”).  The dividend rate for future dividend periods will be set based upon the “Percentage Change in Qualified Lending” (as defined in the Securities Purchase Agreement) between each dividend period and the “Baseline” QSBL level.  Such dividend rate may vary from 1% per annum to 5% per annum for the second through tenth dividend periods, from 1% per annum to 7% per annum for the eleventh through the first half of the nineteenth dividend periods.  If the Series B Preferred Stock remains outstanding for more than four-and-one-half years, the dividend rate will be fixed at 9%.  Prior to that time, in general, the dividend rate decreases as the level of the Bank’s QSBL increases.  Such dividends are not cumulative, but the Company may only declare and pay dividends on its common stock (or any other equity securities junior to the Series B Preferred Stock) if it has declared and paid dividends for the current dividend period on the Series B Preferred Stock, and will be subject to other restrictions on its ability to repurchase or redeem other securities.  

The Company may redeem the shares of Series B Preferred Stock, in whole or in part, at any time at a redemption price equal to the sum of the Liquidation Amount per share and the per-share amount of any unpaid dividends for the then-current period, subject to any required prior approval by the Company’s primary federal banking regulator.
 
As part of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company has granted the Treasury (and any successor) holder certain rights to require the Series B Preferred Stock to be registered for resale under the Securities Act of 1933.

In connection with the funding of the SBLF, the Company redeemed all 6,771 shares of its Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A (Series A Preferred Stock) it sold to the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury Department) on September 11, 2009, in connection with the Treasury Department’s Capital Purchase Program (CPP).  The Company paid $6,786,045 to the Treasury Department to redeem the Preferred Stock, which includes the original investment of $6,771,000, plus accrued dividends.

The above discussion is a summary only, and is qualified in all respects by the specific terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement and the Certificate of Designation.  Copies of the Securities Purchase Agreement and Certificate of Designation are available from the Corporate Secretary of the Company.



SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.

PATHFINDER BANCORP, INC.



Date:  September 6, 2011
By: /s/ Thomas W. Schneider
 
Thomas W. Schneider
 
President and Chief Executive Officer