Banking vet Harvey Glick helping revive struggling North Carolina bank

Central Ohio banking veteran Harvey Glick has found his next project.

The former CEO of Worthington's Insight Bank, which was acquired last month, has been elected executive chairman of Bank of the Carolinas to turn around the North Carolina community bank.

Glick had agreed to serve in an advisory role for First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC), the Cincinnati-based company that paid $36.6 million for Insight, but the temptation to revive another small lender proved too great.

"From a turnaround standpoint, it's about the same as what Insight Bank did," said Glick, who launched a local banking career with the former State Savings in 1980.

He was hired to lead Insight in 2008 when it had $50 million in assets and faced a troubled loan portfolio. Six years later, it had more than $200 million in assets and sold for 176 percent of book value, an about-face that drew attention from an investment bank working on behalf of Bank of the Carolinas.

"This just got to be more attractive," the 63-year-old Glick said. "And not having time to do everything that one wants to do, you have to make choices. I can be a supporter of First Financial without having a formal relationship."

A new challenge

Glick is bound by a temporary non-compete in Central Ohio, but has no plans to return full-time to the region's banking scene. He'll serve in a semi-active role with Bank of the Carolinas, working seven to 10 days a month and taking up residence in Winston-Salem, near the bank's Mocksville, N.C., headquarters.

Bank of the Carolinas (OTCQB:BCAR) has been on the ropes for years, under extra regulatory scrutiny and deferring Troubled Asset Relief Program payments to the Treasury. But a $45.8 million capital raise this year means a new chapter for the $428 million-asset bank, which had been as large as $600 million before the financial crisis in 2008.

Evan Weese covers funding and capital for Columbus Business First.