Michael Kramer, FSG BankChattanooga's biggest independent bank continued to improve profits this summer after boosting its loan volume more than 14 percent so far in 2014.
First Security Group, Inc., the parent company of FSG Bank in Chattanooga, said today it earned $927,000, or a penny per share, in the third quarter. In the same period a year ago, FSG lost $1.4 million, or 2 cents per share.
The three-month period ended Sept. 30, 2014 was the second consecutive quarter of profits after years of losses for FSG. In the first nine months of 2014, FSG earned $1.5 million, or 2 cents per share.
"Our goal for the near- and long-term is to enhance our profitability each and every quarter," FSG CEO Michael Kramer said. "We made additional progress building a balance sheet that will produce sustainable, predictable and consistently improving earnings."
FSG loans increased by $83.6 million, or 14.3 percent, since the end of 2013 and the bank has transferred $86.3 million of loans into the held-for-sale category during 2014 for net loan production of $169.9 million so far this year.
"In the current interest rate environment, we have placed a significant emphasis on growing our deposit base to support our loan growth and we are pleased with the progress achieved during the quarter," Kramer said.