Activist investor Stilwell Group has escalated its involvement at Lake Shore Bancorp, disclosing plans to nominate an individual to challenge for a board seat at the Dunkirk, N.Y., company.
The investor, who owns about 9.9% of Lake Shore’s outstanding shares, said in a regulatory filing that it plans to nominate Timothy Andruschat to join the board at the 2026 annual meeting. Stilwell also submitted a shareholder proposal calling for Lake Shore to refrain from buying another financial institution until its common stock consistently trades above book value.
The filing follows what Stilwell described as an “unproductive meeting with management.”
This approach mirrors a familiar activist playbook in community banking: prioritize tangible book value growth, capital returns, expense control and strategic clarity before pursuing acquisitions that could dilute intrinsic value.
The activist push comes at a notable moment for Lake Shore.
After hiring Kim Liddell as its CEO, Lake Shore exited from two enforcement actions, then completed a second-step conversion. While those actions mark meaningful progress in regulatory remediation and capital strategy, Stilwell’s filing suggests the debate is shifting from stabilization to valuation and capital allocation.