Jimmy Tallent Last Quotations

Excluding securities losses in the fourth quarter of 2005, core fee revenue growth from a year ago was $1.3 million, or 12%, with steady growth achieved in nearly every category. Service charges and fees on deposit accounts increased $970,000 to $6.6 million, primarily due to growth in transactions and new accounts resulting from core deposit program and the cross-selling of other products and services. Brokerage fees increased 85% to $789,000 due to strong market activity. Consulting fees of $1.7 million were down slightly, due to the timing of work completed last year for the documentation and testing of internal controls in our risk management practice.

Loan and deposit growth was strong across all markets. Total assets at year-end were $5.9 billion, a 15% increase from a year ago. Loans increased $144 million during the fourth quarter, or 14% on an annualized basis, and helped drive the increase in net interest revenue. Our net interest margin rose to 4.20%, up 15 basis points from a year ago and up three basis points from last quarter, as increasing short-term interest rates continued to positively affect our slightly asset-sensitive balance sheet. Fee revenue, excluding securities losses taken in the fourth quarter of 2005, was up 12%, reflecting increases in nearly every category.