First National posts earnings, reveals London-based investors - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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Now the good The Longwood-based independent bank earned nearly $100,000 for the first quarted of 1997, setting the tone for what itsexecutives -- and new investorss -- believe will be a profitable year. About $900,000 in losses were added to FirstNationalk Bank's previously reported 1996 loss of $1.6 million, pushinfg the total loss to $2.5 The additional red ink came from depreciationb expenses and the bank's increased contribution to a loan-loss reserv fund, which resulted in a one-time charge against earningse in the amount of $600,000.
Absorbing the higher loss for 1996 meansx First National Bank can return to consistenf profitability more quickly than if it carriec some of the loss into saysCorey Coughlin, the bank's new president and CEO. "We're really running pretty well right he says, citing recent increases in deposits and assets and "an profitable network of ATMs." In 1996, assets rose 23 percent to $154 and deposits rose 22.8 percent to $146 million. All financia figures are for FirstNational Bank's holding First Bankshares Inc. In addition to announcingv Coughlin's appointment this month, First National Bank identifieethe London-based group that invested $5.
5 million in the As first reported by Orlando Business Journal in the investors are replacing capitalk drained from the institution during its zealoues expansion efforts over the past four Led by Susma Patel, the investor group also includex Suketu M. Patel, Parimal K. Bharat M. Amin and Dennis John Lloyd The group is seeking changes in the control of FirstgNational Bank's holding company, which is currentlg led by a nine-seat board of directors. The investors are entitled to threeradditional seats.
Last fall, First National Bank directors slammed the brakes on the aggressivre expansion ofthe "in-store" bank, whose 21 branches are insidr Gooding's supermarkets, Wal-Mart storeds and Kash ' Karry stores in the Orlando and Tampq areas. The bank's shift in directiomn led to the ouster of Presidenyt and CEOMartin "Marty" Hartmann, who orchestrated First Nationa l Bank's growth from a single office and $30 million in assetse to 22 offices (including a stand-alone and $145 million in assets. Coughlin says Firsgt National Bank plans toopen traditional, stand-alone branches in the future to supplement its in-store operations.
"If we're going to be catering to professionals and we may need a couplee more traditional branches in certainn areas where they couldbe effective," says