MIAMI, Aug. 28, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Metro Bank Financial Services Inc., the holding company of Metro Bank of Dade County, today announced that the holding company and bank have signed a Written Agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation that calls for the bank to formalize actions it has been implementing since early 2008 to reduce credit risk, and improve its asset quality and earnings.
"Our mission has been to support our local communities through lending to small businesses, home builders and developers, and as such, our performance has been reflective of the health of the communities we serve," said Charles E. Brier, president and chief executive officer. "The collapse of the real estate market has taken a toll on south Florida, and in turn, on our bank and most every other bank in the region. Even the best customers in these industries are finding it tough to stay current on, or repay, their loans.
"In response to the stress the real estate crisis has placed on the banking industry, regulators have asked dozens of banks recently to enter into agreements similar to ours to help them manage through the economic downturn," Brier continued. "Fortunately for us, we recognized the severity of the situation early on, and adopted a strategic plan in 2008 aimed at keeping Metro Bank a safe and sound institution. We formed a Special Assets Group to actively analyze problem credits and work aggressively with borrowers to remediate weak loans. We have worked diligently to mitigate credit risk, improve asset quality and strengthen overall loan portfolio management. And we have significantly lessened our concentration of non-core deposits. All of our actions correspond closely with the stipulations in the agreement, and we already have made significant progress toward achieving many of these shared goals."
In addition to the significant progress already made toward the specific actions called for in the agreement, Metro Bank continues to maintain strong capital and liquidity positions.
Written Agreements are designed to help banks improve asset quality and financial stability by reducing risk in lending portfolios and improving the quality of asset management. To ensure that banks successfully meet the milestones for improvement, these agreements are supported by increased oversight of boards of directors and compliance committees, as well as regular reporting to both state and federal regulators.
Metro Bank's Written Agreement calls for the bank to strengthen credit risk management, with particular emphasis on reducing commercial real estate loan concentrations, improve asset quality and earnings, and for the Boards of the holding company and bank to appoint a joint Compliance Committee to oversee and ensure compliance with the Written Agreement.
"As we complete the recovery processes outlined by this agreement, we will continue to provide friendly, personalized community banking service to our customers, and we will remain a good citizen in all the communities we serve," said Brier. "We look forward to the next 25 years of service to our customers and communities."
About Metro Bank Financial Services Inc.
Metro Bank Financial Services Inc., based in Miami, is the $477.0 million-asset bank holding company of Metro Bank of Dade County, which provides a full range of consumer and business banking services through six full-service banking offices in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The bank has served the financial needs of South Florida communities for 25 years.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS
This release contains forward-looking statements including statements relating to present or future trends or factors generally affecting the banking industry and specifically affecting Metro's operations, markets and products. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "expects," or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those projected for many reasons, including, without limitation, changing events and trends that have influenced Metro's assumptions, but that are beyond Metro's control. These trends and events include (i) changes in the interest rate environment which may reduce margins, (ii) not achieving expected growth, (iii) less favorable than anticipated changes in the national and local business environments and securities markets, (iv) adverse changes in the regulatory requirements affecting Metro, (v) greater competitive pressures among financial institutions in Metro's markets, (vi) greater loan losses than historic levels, and (vii) difficulties in expanding our banking operations into a new geographic market. Additional information and other factors that could affect future financial results are included in Metro's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
All written or oral forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Please also read the additional risks and factors described from time to time in reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Metro Bank Financial Services Inc. undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made.