The Russell 3000 Index added Crescent State Bank to its set of U.S. and global equity indexes on June 25.

The index represents about 98 percent of all publicly traded stocks, and companies added to the index generally see an increase in their stock price after the new listing. Companies can be dropped from the index because their stock traded for less than $1 at the end of the last trading day in May or by not meeting a market capitalization requirement of $30 million.

Raleigh-based Piedmont Community Holdings bought Crescent State Bank, which operates 15 locations in North Carolina and 11 in the Triangle, in December 2011.

Mike Carlton, the president and CEO of Cary-based Crescent State Bank, is leaving the bank he helped launch in 1998 after it is acquired by Piedmont Community Bank Holdings of Raleigh.

Carlton will remain with the bank for 90 days after the acquisition occurs to assist with the transition, the bank wrote in a regulatory filing.

Piedmont received the go-ahead from regulators last month to acquire a controlling stake in Crescent's corporate parent, Crescent Financial Corp. The $75 million deal is expected to close soon.

Scott Custer, the former CEO of Raleigh-based RBC Bank, will become CEO of Crescent Financial when the deal is completed.

Adam Abram, Piedmont's chairman, will be chairman of Crescent Financial.

Piedmont Community Bank Holdings, the Raleigh company run by former RBC Bank CEO Scott Custer, has raised $105 million to finance its purchase of a controlling stake in Crescent State Bank.

A total of 29 investors took part in the capital raising, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Piedmont announced last month that it had agreed to purchase a controlling stake in Crescent for $75 million.

The deal will provide new capital into Crescent's corporate parent, Crescent Financial Corp. of Cary, which has been losing money as the ailing real estate market and high unemployment have triggered defaults among borrowers.

It still must be approved by Crescent shareholders and regulators. It's expected to close in the second quarter.
 

Crescent State Bank, a Cary-based community bank with 15 branches, reported a $4.4 million loss during the second quarter.

The bank's parent, Crescent Financial, was hurt by larger loan losses and expenses related to home foreclosures. As with many banks, Crescent has suffered as the economy soured, despite improvements in net interest income.

"Despite the loss recorded for the quarter, Crescent's capital ratios continue to be strong and will permit us to work through this credit cycle," said CEO Mike Carlton, in a prepared statement.

The quarterly loss reversed net income of $152,000 during the same three-month period a year earlier.

Crescent's shares rose 14 cents today to $2.89. The stock is down 23 percent in the past year and traded above $10 three years ago.

The parent corporation of Crescent State Bank reported weaker second-quarter profit today, hurt by higher regulatory fees and lower interest rates.

The Cary-based bank also opened two offices in Raleigh, which increased its expenses during the quarter. Crescent now has 15 branches.