1895 Bancorp of Wisconsin, Greenfield, WI (BCOW)

A Wisconsin Case of Self-Serving Bank Conversion

My nomination for The Most Self-Serving Recent Bank Conversion? PyraMax Bank's conversion into 1895 Bancorp of Wisconsin (BCOW). 

Every BCOW shareholder who meets the SEC Rule §240.14a-8 criteria for Who Can Submit a Shareholder Proposal should seriously consider doing so. It's a simple step toward protecting one's own investment while helping to strengthen America's banking system.

Per 1895 Bancorp's April 2023 Proxy, shareholder proposals are due by January 15, 2024. 

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Disclosure: As of this posting, I own shares of BCOW and may subsequently either dispose of them or purchase more.

Prospective Buyers	At the right price (a slight discount to book value), PyraMax Bank would boost earnings for any of these three Southeastern Wisconsin franchises: FFBW, Inc, Brookfield, WI (FFBW) Waterstone Financial, Wauwatosa, WI (WSBF) Westbury Bancorp, Pewaukee, WI (WBBW)
Financial Snapshot †as of 06/30/2023	Total assets: $553M† Tangible book value per share: $12.04† NPAs to assets: 0.2%† Price to book: 51% Market cap: $34.9M Dividend yield: 0% Trailing 12-month ROA: -0.13%† Trailing 12-month ROE: -0.96%†
Scoundrels	Darrel A. Francis, Chairman David Ball, President and CEO Richard Hurd, Executive VP Strategic Planning (Former President and CEO)  Monica Baker, COO
Red Flags	1895 Bancorp of Wisconsin is the biggest Money Grabber and Money Loser, not only among recent bank conversions, but compared to its peers in Wisconsin. Last year, 1895 Bancorp paid its directors over 5x what its peers paid theirs. Its executives received $500K more over a two-year period than even the next highest compensated of their peers.  Don't let Management kid you. They're not paying themselves for performance. This is pure grift: BCOW's PyraMax is the only bank in the list to have lost money since January 2019 when it began its conversion. BCOW NSTS MBBC FFBW Assets $553M $251M $238M $327M Stock +/– – 39% - 12% - 24% + 10% Board Members    5   6 8 8 Average Comp Directors (2022) $175K $32K $21K $34K Average Comp Top 2 Executives (2021 & 2022) $1.2M $550K $736K $633K Earnings* - $8.1M + $500K + $4.8M + $8.1M * Since 1895 Bancorp's January 2019 Mutual Holding Company conversion
Sources	1895 Bancorp website June 2023 Form 10-Q SEC Rule §14a-8 Denver Law Review of SEC Rule §14a-8 BCOW April 2023 Proxy FBBW June 2023 Proxy MBBC October 2023 Proxy NSTS April 2023 Proxy Confidential interviews with other shareholders