FirstBank doubles quarterly profits

The parent company of FirstBank, one of the biggest banks headquartered in Tennessee, doubled its per-share earnings in the fourth quarter to

$23 million, or 74 cents per share, following its acquisition last summer of Clayton Bank and Trust in Knoxville and American City Bank in Tullahoma.

FB Financial Corp., the Nashville-based banking firm which acquired the former Northwest Georgia Bank in Ringgold, Ga., in 2015, said Tuesday its core net income in the fourth quarter totaled $18.7 million, or 60 cents per diluted common share, excluding the tax benefit and merger-related charges. The core earnings were up 39.4 percent from a year earlier.

Additionally, for all of 2017, FirstBank reported net income of $52.4 million, or $1.86 per diluted common share. Core net income was $60.4 million, or $2.14 per diluted common share, excluding the tax benefit, merger-related charges and other items.

FirstBank President Christopher T. Holmes said he is “extremely pleased” by the record year for FB Financial and said the completion of the $284.2 million purchase of the Clayton banks “was a real positive for our operating results and has significantly enhanced the franchise.”

With nearly $2.7 billion in deposits, FirstBank is the ninth biggest bank operating in Tennessee and the fourth biggest bank headquartered within the state.