John Guedry Returns Quotations

Loan growth and strong net-interest margins continue to be the engines that drive our profitability. With fairly low cost of funds and a net-interest margin that grew to over 6 percent at the end of the quarter, our spreads are yielding very healthy returns to our bottom line. Even with the steady climb in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve Bank over the last 18 months, our loan pipeline remains very strong with over $100 million in pending applications.

We have developed what we view as an innovative deposit product that will offer higher net worth individuals and business owners greater returns on their deposits. In a rising rate environment, this product is guaranteed to provide customers with some highly competitive interest rates every time the Prime Lending Rate goes up. Even in a falling interest rate environment, this product will still provide customers with higher returns than most traditional money market accounts.