Bank of Franklin earns top-tier national performance rankings

The Bank of Franklin has been formally recognized by CB Resource Inc., for overall financial performance in the top 10 percent of banking institutions within its peer group from across the nation — ranking No. 4 among 690 C-corp financial institutions with total assets of between $100 million and $249 million.

The most recent CB Top Ten report, which was issued on June 30 for the year to date, uses a scorecard-based approach with eight performance indicators to identify top-performing banks across the United States.

Those indicators include asset growth rate, return on average assets, return on average equity, net interest margin, efficiency ratio, non-performing assets to assets, non interest-bearing deposits to deposits and non-interest income to average assets.

The CB Top Ten groups community banks into five assets-based peer categories with rankings based on performance within key performance indicator categories and their collective performance in all categories.

“Among the 690 banks in our peer group, Bank of Franklin was No. 4 overall, which says a lot about this institution’s commitment to offering safe and sound financial products and services to our customers and communities in a manner that exceeds their expectations,” Bradley B. Jones, who serves as president and CEO of the Meadville-based bank, said.

“The Bank of Franklin has prided itself on personal, proficient and professional services since it was founded in October, 1912, and this recognition is an important benchmark for us in measuring where we stack up in regards to similar-sized financial institutions and staying on top of trends that benefit our customers.”

In relation to this honor, Jones praised the professionalism of the Bank of Franklin’s entire staff — at its locations in Meadville, Brookhaven and McComb — as individuals who are the backbone of the 110-year-old operation and are “exceptionally dedicated” to the institution’s mission.

Jones also pointed out another recent accolade for the local bank was a No. 2 ranking among members of the Community Development Bankers Association in that group’s June 30 national peer-based scorecard report.

The CDBA quarterly analysis provides members of the group a comparative summary of selected financial institutions, and is used to aid in evaluating the adequacy of earnings, capital, asset-liability composition and growth management.

“This summary uses many of the same measurements as the CB Resource Inc., report along with non-interest income,” Jones said.

“Among the 184 community development financial institutions, Bank of Franklin was second overall. It feels great to be able to also get this recognition that further supports our standing not just in Mississippi, but across the entire country.”

CDBA, based in Washington, D.C., is the national trade association of the community development bank sector and serves as the voice and champion of banks and thrifts with a mission of serving low- and moderate-income communities nationally.

These financial entities work in predominately urban and rural communities that lack access to credit and not adequately served by the traditional banking industry.

“Commitment, leadership and vision to the communities we serve remains our primary focus and permeate our work, our planning and our business advancement strategies,” Jones continued.

Bank of Franklin, a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., also has the distinction of earning and maintaining a five-star rating for financial strength and security from Bauer Financial, Inc., the nation’s leading independent bank rating and research firm.

This rating indicates Bank of Franklin excels in areas of capital adequacy, profitability, asset quality and more.

For additional information related to Bank of Franklin’s operations and history, visit the institution’s website at www.bankoffranklin.com.