CHESAPEAKE, Va., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For the second year in a row, Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: MNRK) today announced it has been named one of the top performing small banks in the nation by investment banking firm Sandler O'Neill. Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P. is a New York-based investment banking and advisory firm that specializes in financial institutions.
In its "Class of 2008 Bank and Thrift Sm-All Stars" report, Sandler O'Neill recognized the 33 best performing small-capitalization institutions among a field of 574 publicly traded banks and thrifts in the U.S. with market capitalizations less than $2 billion. By identifying this group, Sandler O'Neill hopes to provide investors with a narrow list from which to uncover the next crop of leading mid-cap banks and thrifts and, most importantly, expose them before the rest of the world discovers them.
"We are the only bank in Virginia to earn this award two years in a row and are among the top 6% of banks nationwide. It validates our growth strategy and highlights our financial performance and strength," said William F. "Tree" Rountree, Jr., president and CEO. "Credit for this award goes to our team of outstanding and dedicated employees. It is great to get third-party validation for all of our hard work."
Inclusion as an Sm-All Star was based on the company's absolute performance in each of eight financial variables. Sandler O'Neill's approach represents a valid starting point in identifying high quality small-cap companies before Wall Street discovers them. To assess fundamental momentum in the evaluation, growth trends in (1) EPS, (2) loan and (3) deposits were evaluated. As a measure of profitability, (4) return on average equity was included. In terms of asset quality, (5) nonperforming assets to loans plus OREO ratio and the (6) net charge-off ratio were analyzed. Finally, (7) reserve to nonperforming assets ratio and (8) Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio provided an indication of capital levels.
About Monarch Bank
Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. is the one-bank holding company for Monarch Bank. Monarch Bank is a community bank with two offices in Chesapeake, four offices in Virginia Beach, and two offices in Norfolk, Virginia. OBX Bank, a division of Monarch Bank, operates one office in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Services are also provided through fifty-two ATMs located in the South Hampton Roads area and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and "Monarch Online" consumer and business Internet banking (monarchbank.com and OBXBank.com). Our subsidiaries/divisions include Monarch Bank, OBX Bank, Monarch Mortgage (secondary mortgage origination), Coastal Home Mortgage, LLC (secondary mortgage origination), Home Mortgage Solutions, LLC (secondary mortgage origination), Virginia Asset Group, LLC (investment and insurance solutions), Real Estate Security Agency, LLC (title agency) and Monarch Capital, LLC (commercial mortgage brokerage). We offer investment services through our ownership in Infinex Financial Group (investments and asset management), and insurance services through our ownership in Infinex Financial Group (full-service insurance agency). The shares of Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. are publicly traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol "MNRK". Visit www.monarchbank.com for more information.
SOURCE Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc.
