First Green Bank Ranks First Among Central Florida Independent Banks in Asset Quality, Fifth in Florida According to Study

MOUNT DORA, Fla. --- First Green Bank in Mount Dora ranks first among independent Central Florida banks and fifth in Florida, according to a massive statewide Asset Quality Review by the Carson Medlin Company, which provides specialized corporate financial services to banking institutions nationwide. Kenneth LaRoe, chairman of First Green Bank, said Carson Medlin analyzed a range of parameters to evaluate 29 leading independent banks in Central Florida and 188 banks statewide. First Green Bank’s total assets of $196,275,000 rank the bank eleventh among the region’s independents, LaRoe said---right in the middle. But First Green’s community-focused lending policies have served the best interests of investors, depositors and customers while earning First Green the Number One spot in asset quality. “What the study really means is that our values based investments in our communities have resulted in far fewer bad loans than most independent banks in Florida,” LaRoe explained. First Green Bank posted zero past due loans, zero non accrual assets, zero REOs (real estate that the bank has taken back to cover debts) and only $288,000 in restructured loans when the region-wide average is almost $5.5 million per bank. Independent banks in Central Florida average more than $12 million in non-performing assets---NPAs or bad loans. First Green Bank has none. And while Central Florida banks posted an average NPA-to-asset ratio of 4.48 percent, First Green scored a big fat zero, according to LaRoe. Most notably, First Green was one of only seven Florida banks to earn a coveted zero on the famed Texas Ratio---a widely regarded measure of sound banking practices developed by Texas banker Gerard Cassidy and RBC Capital Markets more than 30 years ago. “We have taken an aggressive approach to lending for projects that improve the economic vitality and quality of life in Central Florida,” LaRoe said. “That might earn us criticism in some circles, but our experience---affirmed by Carson Medlin’s Asset Quality Review---is that these are the best loans to make. We play fair. We respect our customers. We do the right thing. And our borrowers are good, solid people,” he said. “In our business, character counts,” LaRoe said.