Paradise Bank, a full service community bank serving Broward and Palm Beach counties reported today a profit of almost $1,500,000 for the nine month period ending September 30th. This represents a remarkable turnaround of $2,300,000 from the previous year.
The bank also met or exceeded requirements to add capital through core profitability and attracting new investors. As a result, Paradise Bank exceeded targeted guidelines by producing capital ratios of 8% and 12%.
”I’m extremely gratified to share that we have only three non-accruing loans totaling $1,931,000 and four pieces of bank owned real estate totaling $1,718,000 remaining, representing 1.65% of the total loan portfolio,” stated Bill Burke, President of Paradise Bank. “This is very manageable for us.”
Core profitability was enhanced by the launch of a successful Small Business Administration (SBA) loan initiative one year ago. Paradise Bank entered the SBA market last year with the addition of Kevin Rafferty, Senior Vice President, to the bank’s management team.
In terms of dollars of loan volume, Paradise Bank became the top loan producing community bank in the State of Florida and Palm Beach County for the first nine months of this year. They also posted the number two production slot in Broward County for the same time period.
Measured by loan volume for 7a SBA loan product, Paradise Bank focused largely on financing owner occupied commercial real estate properties.
“This truly shows how community banks can make a big positive impact in spurring the economic turnaround of our markets” related Ward Kellogg, Chairman of Paradise Bank.
Becoming the top Small Business Administration (SBA) community bank lender in the state of Florida is a significant milestone for the six-year old, three-branch bank.
“Kevin continues to be a primary driver of quality loan production in Broward and Palm Beach counties” added Kellogg. “Our emphasis continues to focus on the owner occupied type of real estate, and we provide the borrower with the full array of superior banking products.”
Paradise Bank, with total assets of approximately $300 million, is a full service community bank offering an array of commercial banking and retail services with offices in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Fort Lauderdale. For more information contact Bill Burke at (561) 392-5444 or visit www.paradisebank.com.
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The Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering home and business loans to tornado and severe weather victims in South Florida. Governor Rick Scott announced Thursday that the SBA had approved his request for a physical disaster declaration related to the severe weather events of October 18th in South Florida. The disaster loans are available to households and businesses in Broward, Collier, Hendry, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties and can be utilized to repair or replace damaged real estate and/or other property. Through its Office of Disaster Assistance, the SBA provides low-interest, long-term loans for physical and economic damage caused by a declared disaster. In general, the SBA offers home and personal property loans, business physical disaster loans, and economic injury disaster loans. Applications for physical damage can be filed through December 27th. The deadline for economic injury applications is July 27, 2012. For more information, please visit the Small Business Administration online at: www.sba.gov. |
Millions of South Floridians now have the chance to get lucky with the introduction of LuckyFan, South Florida’s Newest Daily Deal Site that offers South Floridians 50-90% off the best restaurants, spas, travel, products, services and entertainment!
Launched by South Florida serial entrepreneur Jamie McDonnell, LuckyFan offers spectacular deals and once in a lifetime experiences so you can live it up! By extending significantly discounted deals each day, consumers are able to branch out in the vibrant area of South Florida and try out new adventures at Lucky prices!
And what’s more, LuckyFan features special experiences and deals from pro football icon Jason Taylor and his wife Katina. Upon his return to Miami, Jason, along with Katina, signed on to be the official spokes-couple for LuckyFan, offering JT’s “Lucky 99” Deals and “Katina’s Picks” – one-of-a-kind lucky offers that CANNOT be found anywhere else.
“With LuckyFan, our goal is to offer extraordinary deals and experiences that will make consumers feel like they are really special and lucky, said Jamie McDonnell, CEO of LuckyFan. “We are thrilled that Jason and Katina are onboard to offer some fabulous deals, once in a lifetime deals, that can only be found at LuckyFan.com.”
LuckyFan is all about the community in which its fans live, work and play, so as an added feature, the company has created its charitable “LuckyFan Gives Back” program. For every deal purchased, LuckyFan will donate a percentage of the deal to the charity or non-profit foundation of the customer’s choice. When a customer purchases a LuckyFan deal, they are prompted to select one of over 40 names of the charity or non-profit organization that they would like LuckyFan to donate a percentage of their purchase to.
In addition to offering spectacular daily deals on the best of everything to do, see, eat, and buy in South Florida, LuckyFan offers incentives to customers with its innovative “Lucky Bucks” program. The “Lucky Bucks” program gives customers the opportunity to refer their friends, their favorite deal. If 3 friends purchase that deal, then the referring customer’s deal is free. The equivalent value will be given back in “lucky bucks” to be used for future purchases. The “Recommend a Business” feature gives customers the opportunity to receive a free deal if the referred company offers a deal.
LuckyFan has an email database of over 1 million potential South Florida buyers. Subscribers can purchase a new deal each day on the LuckyFan website or through email. Some deals may be available for longer, depending on vendor requests. Unlike many other discount deal sites, LuckyFan does not rely on a minimum number of buying consumers to offer you a LuckyFan deal.
Want to Get Lucky? New customers can sign up to receive Lucky offers at www.LuckyFan.com. By becoming a Fan on Facebook, you will be entered into a drawing for a $1,000 shopping spree with Katina Taylor at Neiman Marcus.
With 100 days remaining on my contract with Beasley Broadcasting and AM 1470 WWNN, I have decided to call it quits. Between an ever-growing family and changing priorities, there is simply not enough time in the day for a morning drive time radio show.
After eight plus years on the South Florida air waves, it is time to move on. My last day on the air will be Tuesday, January 31st.
Now for the current week - Interesting guests and timely topics will be on AM 1470 WWNN the week of October 24th and The Credit Report with Bill Lewis.
Former prosecutor and Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney Jim Lewis will appear and discuss his candidacy for Broward State Attorney as the only Republican for this countywide office in 2012.
Foreclosure defense attorney Carlos Reyes will appear and discuss the latest developments in the “robo-signing” controversy and investigations started by the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
Chairman Richard Denapoli of the Broward Republican Party will appear and discuss Congressman Allen West’s appearance at the monthly meeting and the continuing commitment of the Broward Republican Executive Committee to ensure success in the 2012 presidential election.
Bill Feinberg of Allied Kitchen and Bath will appear and discuss his Wednesday night fundraiser for Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti in Fort Lauderdale. Prominent in many charity circles, Feinberg believes that each of us should “pay it forward.”
Davie Mayoral candidate Mike Crowley will appear and discuss his candidacy for mayor and his plan to create jobs by attracting high-technology business to Davie.
Talk show host Steve Kane will appear and discuss his successful appearance at Wings Plus in Coral Springs and other initiatives of The Steve Kane Show on AM 1470 WWNN.
Florida’s 34th Senator and current U.S. Senate candidate George LeMieux will discuss his candidacy in the Republican race to replace Democratic Senator Bill Nelson.
Tom Lauder of RedBroward will appear and discuss his political blog where “Making Broward See Red” is not such a hard job.
Coral Springs Commissioner and mayoral candidate Vince Boccard will appear and discuss his decision to run for mayor of one of Money Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Live” across America – ranked first in the State of Florida and 44th on the overall list.
Talk show host and attorney Lisa Macci will appear and discuss her recent move to AM 1470 WWNN and “The Justice Hour with Lisa Macci.”
Criminal defense attorney John Contini will appear and discuss the importance of criminal history records sealing when seeking employment in tough economic times.
Republican Party of Broward County Executive Director Rico Petrocelli will appear and discuss initiatives to grow the local party and upcoming events.
The Credit Report with Bill Lewis is a daily forum for business and financial news, politics, economic trends, and cutting edge issues. Bill can be heard weekday’s at 9 o’clock on AM 1470 WWNN in south Florida or by streaming audio at www.wwnnradio.com. Phone lines are open at (888) 565-1470.
You may be just a mouse click away from learning if the state has lost treasure in your name. Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater’s Department of Financial Services holds unclaimed property accounts valued at more than $1 billion.
Between record unemployment, the increasing use of food stamps, emergency cash assistance and government subsidies, Floridians are turning to the Internet in search of missing or unclaimed property. With over $33 billion in unclaimed funds nationwide, the most popular search terms on Google, Yahoo, Bing and AOL are “missing money” and “unclaimed funds.” Even social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have pages on how to find missing money.
Since the program's inception in 1961, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property has reunited owners or heirs of deceased owners with more than $1.6 billion in unclaimed property held in Florida. Having hosted 1.5 million visitors on their website while receiving and responding to 96,668 customer service calls, the Bureau processed and paid over $188 million in claims for fiscal year 2009/2010, an increase of almost $15 million over the prior year’s record.
Now holding over $1 billion in approximately 9.9 million claimable accounts, unclaimed property originates from dormant accounts in financial institutions, insurance and utility companies, securities and trust holdings. Unclaimed property also includes tangible items such as watches, jewelry, coins, currency, stamps, historical items and other articles from abandoned safe deposit boxes. A recent deposit to the Bureau of Unclaimed Property included $29 million from the FDIC and a record-shattering 153,151 unclaimed accounts following the collapse of Washington Mutual Bank.
CFO Jeff Atwater reminds Floridians of an interactive claims service making it easier to recover treasure held in the Bureau of Unclaimed Property. “In these tough economic times, Floridians should account for every penny,” said CFO Atwater. “I encourage all Floridians to visit our web site at www.FLTreasureHunt.org. With nearly ten million accounts, the chances are good we are holding cash or property for you, your business, or someone you know.”
Florida is one of forty states that participate in a program endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, an organization that proactively seeks owners of missing and unclaimed property. By visiting www.MissingMoney.com or www.Unclaimed.org an individual can determine whether they are entitled to unclaimed funds. When searching, be sure to check each state that you have resided and under each name you have used. Also search for deceased relatives as heirs are often surprised to learn something has been left behind by the dearly departed.
In minutes, one can determine whether they are entitled to missing money or property in Florida. Visit the Bureau of Unclaimed Property’s website at www.FLTreasureHunt.org or call toll-free 1-88-VALUABLE (888-258-2253). If you find a match, an online claims form can be completed, printed, and mailed with supporting documentation for processing. Although there is no statute of limitations on making a claim, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property does not pay interest on accounts.
Quite a surprise for a South Florida couple who attended CFO Atwater’s Open House after the inauguration; they found $6,000 in unclaimed money stashed within the Bureau of Unclaimed Property. During the Open House, employees with the Bureau identified a total of $3,436.87 in claims for visitors. One visitor from Pensacola filed a claim for more than $1,400.
If you are contacted by search firm advising they have located funds and will process a claim on your behalf, politely decline and search the bureau registry yourself. Most states, including Florida, do not charge a fee to recover unclaimed property. There is no reason to pay for something you can do yourself in mere minutes and at the price of a postage stamp.
To review Bill Lewis' entire consumer protection series, please visit www.williamlewis.us or call (954) 337-1530.
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William E. Lewis, Jr. & Associates is a solutions based professional consulting firm specializing in the discriminating individual, business or governmental entity. To learn more, tune into “The Credit Report with Bill Lewis,” a daily forum for business and financial news, politics, economic trends, and cutting edge issues, weekdays at 9 o’clock on AM 1470 WWNN.
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