Staff Report
Published Nov. 2, 2009
First National Bancshares Inc. of Spartanburg said Friday that it lost $12.7 million in the third quarter, down from a $20 million loss in the second quarter.
The holding company for First National Bank of the South continues its efforts to reduce the number of nonperforming loans and in the third quarter reported a $9.2 million provision for loan losses. The bank attributed the remainder of the loss to rising costs related to insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., regulatory assessments from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and expenses associated with remediation of nonperforming assets.
“Excluding elevated FDIC premiums and OCC regulatory assessments, First National’s year-to-year quarterly operating expenses continue to decline, and we will continue to evaluate prudent investments in areas with the greatest potential for growth,” said Barry Mason, who became the company’s president and CEO during the third quarter. “Going forward, First National expects to continue to make loans, attract deposits and prudently grow our community investments.”
First National is the 12th-largest bank by deposits in South Carolina, according to FDIC data. It has locations throughout the Upstate and in Charleston, Columbia and Tega Cay.
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In the third quarter, First National said it increased deposits 8% to $683.8 million and improved liquidity.
“We continue to take measures to improve our capital ratios by reducing assets and have increased our loan-loss provisions. Our dedicated special assets group has resolved $39.3 million in assets this year,” added Chairman Dan Adams.
