TierOne halves quarterly dividend to 4 cents

TierOne Corp., the parent of TierOne Bank, said Thursday its board halved its quarterly dividend to 4 cents.

"Our board recognizes that quarterly dividends are important to our shareholders," said Gilbert G. Lundstrom, chairman and chief executive. "Yet in today's very volatile economic and credit environment, this reduction is an appropriate step to preserve our capital and build our reserves through these challenging times."

The dividend is payable July 8 to shareholders of record June 30.

Shares of TierOne hit a 52-week low of $5.18 during trading and ended the session down 28 cents, or 5 percent, at $5.31.