Suffolk bank seeks 3rd Nasdaq extension

Troubled Suffolk Bancorp, whose shares face delisting by Nasdaq, has asked the stock market for another extension to file overdue earnings reports required by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A filing Friday evening gave no reason for the proposed extension, and senior vice president Douglas Shaw said in an interview he could not comment.

The request by the parent of Suffolk County National Bank, based in Riverhead, seeks an extension until Nov. 7 to file delinquent reports for the quarters ended March 31 and June 30. Nasdaq had granted extensions until Aug. 31 and again until Sept. 16 to file the earnings reports. The timely filing of such reports is a requirement for having shares listed on Wall Street.

Suffolk Bancorp, with 30 bank branches, restated its financial statements for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010, and the year ended Dec. 31, 2010.

In early May the bank announced a delay in filing first-quarter earnings "because of possible deficiencies and/or weaknesses in . . . internal controls with respect to credit administration and credit-risk management." The bank also said it had hired consultants to review loan files and warned that past earnings reports might have to revised.

Suffolk Bancorp in a news release in April reported a $12.9- million loss for the first quarter, compared to a profit of $1.5 million a year earlier. On Aug. 11 it said it made a profit in its second quarter and had added $2.7 million to its loan-loss allowance, bringing that reserve to nearly $50 million.

Chief executive J. Gordon Huszagh blamed the red ink in the first quarter on having to set aside $29.7 million for possible loan defaults, compared with $8.8 million in early 2010. Shares fell from a 52-week high of $27.80 on Oct. 15 last year to a low of $7.51 on Sept. 6, closing up 8 cents to $8.27.