Bank of Tennessee announces 2009 year end earnings

Jan 20 2010 12:00AM

Tri-Cities, TN January 20, 2010 - Bank of Tennessee today announced 2009 year end earnings of $7.4 million, a 5% increase over 2008 earnings. The Bank had total assets of $636.5 million at December 31, 2009, which included loans totaling $480 million, representing a decline of 4.7% over the same period in 2008.

BancTenn Corp, the holding company for the Bank of Tennessee also announced a dividend of $.60 per share for the 4th quarter. This amount is unchanged since the 3rd quarter of 2008.

"2009 was a very challenging year," said Roy L. Harmon, Jr. Chairman and CEO. "In addition to increased charge offs and non performing loan levels, we were hit with substantial increases in FDIC premiums. We utilized tighter management of other expenses to bolster our net interest income and loan loss reserves. We finished the year with 8% tier 1 capital, 12% total risk based capital and a loss reserve of 1.5% of our outstanding loans. These numbers are very good and provide us a sound foundation. We are proud of our bank's strong performance as it sets Bank of Tennessee among the highest level of banks as compared to the performance of our peers"

"You hear about the "Fat Cat" Wall Street bankers, but that is not Bank of Tennessee. While we are still lending money, increasing government intervention and regulation is making it very difficult for us to continue to lend in the same fashion as we have in the past. Looking ahead, it is apparent all banks will be subject to stricter regulations that could make credit more expensive and less available. On the positive side, I do look forward to improved jobs numbers and an improving economy in 2010. We have hired some local experienced bankers recently and added two great board members," noted Harmon.

Bank of Tennessee has been serving the greater Tri-Cities area for more than 35 years with 11 Tri-City locations and 200 employees. We continually strive to bring community banking and personal service to our customers. For more information, visit bankoftennessee.com or call (423) 378.9500.