CHESAPEAKE, Va., April 17, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:MNRK), parent of Monarch Bank, has been named to the 2012 Bank Honor Roll by KBW, Inc., a full-service investment bank that specializes in the financial services sector. Monarch is one of only 49 banks in the country to be named to the Bank Honor Roll out of nearly 400 banks screened by KBW. Monarch is one of only two Virginia-based banks that won the award three years in a row, and is the only Hampton Roads-based banking company to win the award for the past three years.
"We are delighted to make KBW's honor roll for a third year in a row based on our strong financial performance," said Brad E. Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer. "This accomplishment is the result of the continued dedication and focused work of our employees and boards of directors."
Honor Roll winners are publicly traded banking institutions with more than $500 million in total assets that meet KBW's criteria for superior performance. In their news release, KBW said it selected banking companies for the Bank Honor Roll to acknowledge companies that have achieved positive earnings per share growth over the last decade, regardless of the economic environment. In terms of stock price performance, Bank Honor Roll companies significantly outperformed the banking industry between 2007 and 2012. KBW also found the Honor Roll members to have better-than-industry performance ratios and growth.
About Monarch
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, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Suffolk, 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 over thirty offices with locations in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and South Carolina. Our subsidiaries/ divisions include Monarch Bank, OBX Bank, Monarch Mortgage (secondary mortgage origination), OBX Bank 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 Bank Private Wealth (investment, trust, planning and private banking), 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".