Conversion Pays Off For CEO AtEx-CU

WAYCROSS, Ga. - (04/13/06) -- Robert Larison, president and CEO ofAtlantic Coast Federal Bank had a year in 2005 that most creditunion CEOs can only dream of. Larison, who converted his creditunion, then known as Atlantic Coast FCU, to mutual savings bank in2000, had a million-dollar payday in 2005 when he took the creditunion-convert public in an initial public offering. Larison earnedalmost $1.1 million in compensation last year; including a $164,800salary, $19,704 bonus, $13,057 for his 401K plan, $31,115 for hisemployee stock ownership plan, $15,410 of voluntary cash-out ofpersonal time, $186,324 for a supplementary executive retirementplan, and a whopping $600,000 worth of restricted stock grants,according to documents filed last week with the Securities andExchange Commission. In fact, Larison received 41,344 free sharesof in the fledgling public bank valued at $595,353 on July 1, 2005.While he earns full ownership of the shares in equal installmentsover the next five years, he retains voting rights and earnsdividends on all of the shares since last year's grant. Since theex-credit union went public last April, Larison has obtainedownership of 96,615 Atlantic Coast shares valued at almost $1.4million.