A small Georgia bank pummeled by internal fraud reported a $6.89 million fourth-quarter profit it attributed largely to a branch sell-off.
The $109 million-asset nBank, in Commerce, said in its Dec. 31 call report that it was adequately capitalized after the October sale of three branches and $33 million of loans to nearby Hamilton State Bank. It said the sale brought in about $8.6 million.
The bank's former senior vice president, Ronald Walton, pleaded guilty in December to bank fraud. The bank's capitalization suffered, and some observers speculated that it was in danger of failing.
NBank's Tier 1 leverage ratio was 4.84% in the fourth quarter, against minus 0.55% in the third quarter. Its total risk-based capital ratio was 13.67%, up from minus 1.18%. But nBank's earnings report indicates it still has problems. It posted a loss for the year of $138,000, and excluding the gains from the branch sale it had a net loss of $1.7 million in the fourth quarter.
