First Green Bank Ranks among Best Community Banks in Florida in Two Independent Banking Industry Studies

MOUNT DORA, Fla. --- Two recently released independent banking industry surveys have ranked First Green Bank among the strongest in asset quality in Florida for its conservative approach to asset quality. Four-year-old First Green Bank, headquartered in Mount Dora with branch offices in Orlando, Clermont and Ormond Beach and a fourth branch to open in Winter Park later this year, was judged among the best in the Central Florida region in both asset quality and lending strength and scored a 1.2 in the vaunted Texas ratio, a banking industry standard since the 1980s. Kenneth LaRoe, chairman and chief executive officer of First Green Bank, said a statewide Asset Quality Review by the Carson Medlin Company, the independent banking industry division of Monroe Securities, Inc., ranked First Green Bank first in the seven-county Central Florida region in its ratio of assets to non-performing assets and tied for second in the region with the ratio of average loans to NCO’s (net charge offs). Excluding First Green Bank’s single restructured loan, Carson Medlin gave First Green Bank perfect ‘0.0’ scores on the Texas Ratio, it’s non-performing assets (NPA’s) and its ratio of NPA’s to assets, LaRoe said. A second study, the Hovde Group Quarterly Florida Bank Peer Performance Report, gave First Green Bank a perfect score on the Texas ratio — the best in Central Florida. “The Carson Medlin and Hovde Group surveys are independent, highly respected and highly anticipated report cards for community banks that provide an accurate measure of banking policies, strategies and success,” LaRoe said. “We all feel a great sense of pride to have scored so well, given our age and size,” LaRoe said.