CHESAPEAKE, Va., Nov. 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Monarch Bank, a subsidiary of Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:MNRK) (Nasdaq:MNRKP), today announced that the company has again been named to the "The Roaring 20" list, a compilation of the twenty fastest-growing companies in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia.
"We are excited to be recognized as a Roaring 20 award winner three years in a row. We were the only financial institution recognized in 2012, and we hold the title as the only financial institution to be recognized three years in a row since the awards began," stated Brad E. Schwartz, chief executive officer. "We are proud that we have not only grown in asset size, revenue and by the number of employees, but we have also shown growth in our profitability and return to our shareholders over the past three years."
"The Roaring 20" award honors Hampton Road's most dynamic businesses based on revenue and employee growth. The award recognizes the region's fastest growing companies that are making significant contributions to the local economy, including creating much needed jobs.
Cherry, Bekaert & Holland LLP, weekly business journal Inside Business, along with an independent panel of judges of local business leaders and university business faculty chose twenty finalists based upon both dollar growth and percentage rate of growth over the company's three most recent completed fiscal years. Other judging criteria included critical factors that resulted in company growth, challenges/obstacle overcome, and the future outlook of long-term sustainability.
Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. is the one-bank holding company for Monarch Bank. Monarch Bank is a community bank with eleven banking offices in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg, Virginia. OBX Bank, a division of Monarch Bank, operates offices in Kitty Hawk and Nags Head, North Carolina. Monarch Mortgage and our affiliated mortgage companies have thirty offices with locations in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and South Carolina. Our subsidiaries/ divisions include Monarch Bank, Monarch Bank Private Wealth (Private banking, trust and investments), OBX Bank, Monarch Mortgage (secondary mortgage origination), Coastal Home Mortgage, LLC (secondary mortgage origination), Regional Home Mortgage, LLC (secondary mortgage origination), Monarch Home Funding, LLC (secondary mortgage origination), Monarch Investments (investment and insurance solutions), Real Estate Security Agency, LLC (title agency) and Monarch Capital, LLC (commercial mortgage brokerage). The shares of common stock of Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. are publicly traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol "MNRK," and shares of our convertible preferred stock are publicly traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol "MNRKP."