Metropolitan National Bank Posts Q3 Loss Of $1.24 Million

Metropolitan National Bank said it posted a third quarter net loss of $1.24 million as the Little Rock-based bank continues trying to right its financial ship.

One year ago, privately-held Metropolitan recorded a $1.58 million loss.

Metropolitan was hit hard during the recession with a multitude of real estate deals and an aggressive expansion in northwest Arkansas that stretched the bank’s resources thin.

The bank has been under an order from federal bank regulators to improve its capital ratios.

Metropolitan said as of September 30, 2012, its Tier 1 Capital Ratio stood at 6.15%, which represented a 10.4% improvement from the same time period in 2011, when the ratio was 5.57%. The bank’s Risk Based Capital Ratio was 10.09%, an increase of 11.4% from the previous year’s ratio of 9.06%.

“Substantial improvements have been realized in our financial ratios and results over the past year,” said Lunsford W. Bridges, President and CEO of Metropolitan National Bank. “During the first nine months of 2012, the bank reduced losses by 50% compared to the same time period in 2011. Additionally, Metropolitan has made great strides in decreasing non-performing assets by 31%, or $67 million, in the past twelve months and we expect significant reductions in non-performing assets to continue.”

“As the economy continues to improve and the real estate market stabilizes, we will maintain our strategy to look for opportunities to strengthen our overall financial position by aggressively reducing non-performing assets while maintaining adequate capital levels,” Bridges added.