Three resign from Tennessee Commerce Bancorp board

Directors, who have stepped down over the last three days, all apparently disagree with recent decision to grant hefty pay hikes to the bank's top four officers

Email | Print By Walker Duncan

Over the last three days, three directors have resigned from the board of Tennessee Commerce Bancorp due to a disagreement concerning executive compensation.

Stepping down are Fowler H. Low, a retired Genesco executive who served as CEO of its Johnston & Murphy division until 1998; Winston C. Hickman, a principal with Nashville's T.W. Frierson Construction; and Regg E. Swanson, president and managing member of Star Physical Therapy in Franklin. All three had sat on the bank’s board since 2000.

The dispute appears to stem from the recent decision by the rest of the company’s board to increase dramatically the base salaries of the company’s top four executives.

The four men, who according SEC filings made a combined $690,000 last year, will each receive over $330,000 in ‘07.

CEO Art Helf and chief lending officer Michael Sapp, who each took home $190,000 in ’06, saw their salaries more than double this year, jumping to $400,000 apiece.

The other two executives receiving generous pay hikes from the company’s board are CFO George Fort and chief administrative officer Lamar Cox. Fort, who made $130,000 in ’06, had his salary bumped to $335,000, while Cox, whose ’06 salary was $180,000, had his increased to $350,000

Additionally, each of the four will receive 50,000 stock options.

Attempts to reach the directors have been unsuccessful. NashvillePost.com will update this story if they have any comment later.