From Earlier: Community Bankers Trust Corporation Conditionally Approves But Defers Dividend on TARP Preferred Stock

Community Bankers Trust Corporation, the holding company for Essex Bank

, announced yesterday that its Board of Directors has conditionally approved the February 2012 payment of its regular quarterly cash dividend with respect to its Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A, which the Company issued to the United States Department of the Treasury in connection with the Company's participation in the Treasury's TARP Capital Purchase Program in December 2008. The Company's payment of the dividend is conditioned upon the approval of the Company's federal and state regulators, as set forth in the formal written agreement that has been in place since April 2011. The Company has been advised that the required approval is contingent upon the issuance and review of the final regulatory report from a recently concluded full-scope safety and soundness examination. Under the terms of the Preferred Stock, the Company is required to pay dividends on a quarterly basis at a rate of 5% per year for the first five years, after which the dividend rate automatically increases to 9% per year. The principal amount of each dividend payment is $221,000. The Company may defer dividend payments, but the dividend is a cumulative dividend that accrues for payment in the future. The failure to pay dividends for six dividend periods trigger the right for the holder of the Preferred Stock to appoint two directors to the Company's board. The Treasury has not requested to exercise this right to date.