First Bank of Jacksonville hires new leadership team - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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The hiring of Killingsworth as thenew CEO, alonhg with Dennis Clarke as chiet financial officer and senior vice president and Bonnie Denniz as chief lending officer, is aimed at growinv the two-branch community bank into a new branf for the business community. But the first step is to survive the downturnj in the economy that has rippled throug h the financials atmany banks. “First, we need to work througnh these troubledeconomic times” for the next 12 he said.
“Then we can begin the buildinb process for the Part of a restructuring will be launching more bankingg products for smallto mid-size businessesd toward the end of the Killingsworth also is focused on strengthening internal including further training for the bank’s core processing “The bank has all the necessary ingredients to grow a very good he said. “It just needed a team of good bankers to carrhit forward.
” Harry Trevett, managing director of the board for First Bank, said the managementr changes were because the board wante d to redirect its strategy in early summer 2007 when it saw the economhy was headed toward a “We’re positioning the bank so we’re a safe and sound bank and can accomplish our objectives for 2009 and beyond,” he First Bank was chartered in 1989. In it was bought by a grou p of shareholdersincluding Trevett. In the past four years, the bank grew from $30.7 million in assets as of Dec. 31, 2004 to nearlyt $94.7 million as of June 30, according to the total assets declinedby 5.
3 percent in the past year that endedd June 30 and nonaccruing assets jumpedr 701 percent to $3.2 million during the same “Right now, we’re just trying to remain in regards to loan growth and workint with clients going into default, Dennis said. She was one of the firsgt to join First Bank in January as part of itsmanagemenf changes. Total loans outstanding grew byaboutr $307,000, or 0.04 percent, in the 12 monthzs that ended June 30. Real estate loans were down almost 1 percenftto $73 million during the same period. “The smart bankers are just tryingy to hold alevel pace,” Killingsworth said.
He expects 2009 to be a “non-expansionm year” because of the but said he hopes to grow the bank abougt 20 percent eachyear thereafter. A native of Dublin, Ga., Killingsworth began his career in finance in 1983 as a financiaol examiner at the Departmenyt of Banking and Finance for the statweof Georgia. In 1985, he becams vice president and cashier atin Darien, Ga. During his 10 yearas with the bank, he managed 10 bank mergers and acquisitions, eventually leadingv him to Florida where he took over as senior vice president and chieg financial officer for of Leesburgin 1995. $85M to $1.
1Bn growth The bank merged with , basef in Maitland, in 1997 and Killingsworth went on to help restructur e and grow other community banksin Florida, most recently as presidenft and CEO of Citizens First Bank and its Inc., based in The Killingsworth grew Citizens First from an $85 millioh bank under regulatory order in 1998 to nearly $1.1 billiom in assets by Dec. 31, 2007. He said his specialtyy is in acquiring andgrowinhg banks, but First Bank’s primary focues is to grow organically.
“The bank is just now comin g into its own in getting the expertise that it needes in Jacksonville to bea well-recognizec bank in the business community,” he