Orion wins national kudos

Orion Bancorp, the largest, privately held, independent bank holding company headquartered in Naples, has been recognized as one of the most efficient bank holding companies in the nation in an article appearing in American Banker magazine.

The article, which compared the efficiency ratios of the largest 500 bank holding companies in the United States and Puerto Rico, placed Orion Bancorp No. One in Southwest Florida, number two in the state and No. 136 in the country.

This industry snapshot provided a comprehensive comparison of the holding companies efficiency ratios for the second quarter of 2003 and improvement over the same period the previous year. The list was compiled using consolidated data submitted as required to the Federal Reserve by all banks and bank holding companies.

Orion Bancorp was the only southwest Florida bank holding company to make it into the top 150 list, which included both public and privately held holding companies. In the third quarter of 2003, Orion Bancorp reported an Efficiency Ratio of 48.20 compared with 52.64 for the same period last year.

"The efficiency ratio is an important measurement of an organization's performance and vital to its overall success and longevity," said Jerry J. Williams, chairman, president and CEO of Orion Bancorp.

The 27-year -old company has 16 locations from Key West to Sarasota and more than $900 million in total assets.