Katahdin Trust rated as ‘profitable’

    HOULTON — In the June, 2008 issue of US Banker magazine, Katahdin Trust Company was named among the Top 200 publicly traded community banks in the United States with respect to Average Return on Equity over a three-year period, a standard of bank performance which measures sustained profitability as indexed to the Bank’s Equity Capital.     In an article entitled “In Careful Pursuit Of Growth,” the magazine ranked the top-performing 200 banks, noting “They (the top 200 banks) avoided the enticement of sub-prime mortgages. They controlled expenses and capitalizations. As a result, community banks on this year’s Top 200 list, based on a three-year average Return on Equity, maintained remarkably high returns on earnings, despite a financial market tailspin in the second half of 2007.”
    Katahdin Bankshares, the holding company which owns Katahdin Trust Company, settled into the list at number 78 among the Top 200 banks. With Total Assets of $428.4 million the Bank had a Return on Equity (ROE) of 13.26 percent in 2007 along with a three-year average of 15.54 percent; a strong performance by virtually any standard. The magazine also listed other key financial data regarding the banks comprising the list, which included only one other Maine-based institution.
    Jon Prescott, President & CEO of Katahdin Trust Company, said “We are certainly pleased to have made the upper echelon of the Top 200 banks in America as defined by US Banker. It is the dedication and hard work of our 159 employees day in and day out that was a critical factor in the Bank receiving this recognition.”
    Prescott further stated, “We applaud our peers across the nation who join us on this list, but in the final analysis we are pleased for two reasons: first, that the recognition marked our performance over a three-year period, which reflects trends rather than short-term excellence and, second, because we are operating our bank in a manner which earns such recognition, we are successfully providing the stability and strength our shareholders and customers deserve and expect,” he said.
    “As always, our appreciation goes out to the customers we are privileged to serve,” Prescott said. “They are the foundation of our every success, and honors we earn belong to these friends and neighbors.”