First Green Bank Earns Prestigious Five-Star Rating from Independent BauerFinancial Inc. for Second Year in a Row

MOUNT DORA, Fla. --- First Green Bank was the only Lake County bank and one of only five banks in Central Florida to earn the prestigious Five-Star rating from BauerFinancial, Inc., the independent community bank rating group based in Coral Gables.

Kenneth LaRoe, chairman of First Green Bank, said BauerFinancial rates community banks every quarter based on asset quality, loan portfolio, underwriting standards and ratio of net worth to assets.

Banks with a high amount of delinquent loans usually have a “problematic” rating of two stars or below.

The Five-Star Rating was no surprise, LaRoe said. The Lake County-based community bank earned the Five Star rating last year as well.

BauerFinancial released its quarterly ratings of 17 Central Florida community banks recently. The Five-Star rating is BauerFinancial’s highest.