BayFirst Financial in St. Petersburg, Fla., has ended an SBA lending program and suspended quarterly dividends.
The $1.3 billion-asset company said in a press release that it had discontinued its Bolt 7(a) SBA program.
The program was designed to provide expedited small balance loans to small businesses, typically used for working capital. BayFirst said it is reviewing how it can strengthen its core SBA 7(a) offerings, improve operations, and adapt to evolving local and financial market conditions.
The move includes 51 job cuts, or 17% of its workforce, with about half of them Bolt positions. The move should save BayFirst about $6 million annually.
BayFirst said it recorded chargeoffs and fair value writedowns on high-risk SBA 7(a) loans during the second quarter. It expects to record a restructuring charge in the third quarter and will also seek offers to sell the Bolt loan balances and Bolt loan origination platform to an unaffiliated third party.
In addition to suspending dividends, the company’s board will forgo board fees.
“These efforts will allow us to focus our resources on building a premier community banking franchise and capitalizing on our strengths,” Tom Zernick, BayFirst’s CEO, said in the release. “We are confident that these efforts will better align the company and our bank with the demands of our rapidly changing banking landscape.”