SOX Costs Prompt Switch From Public to Private

But is compliance savings worth the hassle?

By Karen Krebsbach
Additional compliance costs of Sarbanes-Oxley, which can reach as high as $2 million annually, are pushing many public community banks to go private and avoid onerous reporting requirements to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"To add $1 million or $2 million in costs-with no income to show for it-makes a huge difference," observes Patrick D. Daugherty, a partner at the Chicago law firm Foley & Lardner. "Community banks are having a hard enough time with compliance anyway."

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