Projo Biz Blog

The management at Providence-based Bancorp Rhode Island, the parent of Bank Rhode Island, said this morning that for the third time this month they've earned another positive review from a national investment advisory firm. The latest review comes as the bank fights off a pair of dissident shareholders intent on engineering a sale of the company.

In a report dated May 15, analysts at RiskMetrics. said: "The company's stronger year-over-year performance suggests that its investments of 2003-2006 are beginning to bear fruit. BARI's improvement is particularly notable given the challenging operating environment for banks during the last year."

Analysts at RiskMetrics' share the opinion of those at Proxy Governance and Glass Lewis & Co. as PL Capital LLC, an Illinois hedge-fund investment firm headed by Richard Lashley and John Palmer, pushes for the ouster of Merrill Sherman, the bank’s president and chief executive officer, and, ultimately, for Bancorp Rhode Island’s sale.

"We are pleased that for the second year in a row, all three major proxy advisory firms have recognized the significant contribution of our board members and recommended in favor of the board's director nominees, said Malcolm G. Chace, the bank's chairman.

Lashley and Palmer will again confront Sherman and bank founder and board chairman Malcolm G. Chace III, at the company's (BARI:Nasdaq) annual meeting May 21.

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