Some bank CEOs cut back holdings
Some Las Vegas bank chief executives have been trimming their holdings of their company's stock in recent months as their share prices languished near all-time lows.
Robert Sarver, chairman and chief executive officer of Western Alliance Bancorporation, the holding company for Bank of Nevada, sold almost 118,500 shares for about $824,000 in February.
Sarver sold the stock to record losses that could be used to offset gains from a fund of shares that he contributed to several years ago, according to a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commssion. He has no plans to sell additional shares, according to the filing.
Sarver still controls 3.8 million shares, making him the second-largest individual shareholder behind William Boyd, bank founder and executive chairman of Boyd Gaming Corp. Each owns about 9.5 percent of the outstanding shares.
Dallas Haun, chairman and chief executive officer of Nevada State Bank, sold about 2,000 shares of Zions Bancorporation in February and March for $6,600. That left him with about 11,800 Zions shares. Zions is the holding company for Nevada State.
Haun and Nevada State did not respond to calls for comment.
Edward Jamison, chairman and chief executive officer of Community Bancorp, has not sold Community Bancorp stock since he purchased 36,000 shares for $144,000 in July, according to Yahoo Finance.
The company's proxy statement last year showed that Jamison owned 345,000 shares, or 3.4 percent of the outstanding shares. Stock purchases since then have boosted his total to about 390,000.
Community Bancorp closed down 7 cents, or 2.9 percent, at $2.33 Wednesday on the Nasdaq National Market, up from a recent 52-week low of 52 cents.
Zions gained 80 cents, or 6.7 percent, closing at $12.83 on Nasdaq. Its 52-week low is $5.90.
Western Alliance shares ended trading on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday at $4.85, up 28 cents, or 6.1 percent. The 52-week low is $3.72.
Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.
