ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- North Jersey Community Bank (NJCB), the fastest growing bank in New Jersey, has been recognized among the top five best performing community banks in the nation by SNL Financial, a leading provider of news and data on the banking and financial services industry. NJCB placed fifth in SNL Financial's ranking of the top 100 community banks in the United States with assets between $500 million and $5 billion and was the only New Jersey bank to place in the Top 25.

"All of us at NJCB are honored to be recognized by SNL Financial as one of America's top performing community banks," said chairman and CEO Frank Sorrentino III. "Despite the challenging economic and regulatory climate that the banking sector faced in 2010, we recorded our best year since our inception in 2005, achieving strong growth in assets, deposits, loans and capital. This is a testament to an incredibly talented NJCB team devoted to customer service and true relationship banking as well as our relentless focus on top-line growth, controlling costs and generating the most efficient balance sheet possible."

In 2010, NJCB grew total assets by $87 million to $602 million. Total loans increased $96 million to $494 million while deposits grew to over $500 million. The bank reported net income for 2010 of $4.7 million, more than double 2009 results.

NJCB offers a complete range of financial services for both personal and business customers, backed by advanced technology. The bank provides a full-line of banking products and services, including mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, as well as a wide selection of commercial services. Its Simply Better Money Market Account, with one of the highest rates in the area, is available for both business and personal accounts and includes free checking and free online bill pay, and now mobile banking.  Each of its branches feature NJCB's exclusive "Coin Toss" free coin counting machine as well as extended lobby hours from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday. NJCB also provides 24-hour ATM service and free online banking at www.njcb.com.

About the SNL Financial Ranking

To compile the rankings, SNL defined community banks as institutions between $500 million and $5 billion in assets and 60 or fewer offices. SNL ranked companies at the bank holding company level if consolidated data was reported. Otherwise, commercial bank subsidiary data was used. Additionally, banks with a majority of revenue derived from nontraditional banking activities were not included.

Based on the above criteria, 764 companies were eligible for the rankings. Companies meeting the criteria received scores based on their percentile rank on each of the following six metrics: return on average tangible assets before tax, net charge-offs as a percent of average loans, adjusted nonperforming loans as a percent of total loans, operating expenses as a percent of operating revenue, net interest margin and loan growth. All metrics were weighted equally.

About SNL Financial

SNL Financial is a leading provider of financial information on more than 3,300 public companies and 50,000 private companies in the business sectors critical to the global economy: Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, Real Estate, Energy and Media & Communications. The SNL information service integrates breaking news, comprehensive data and expert analysis into an electronic database available online and updated around the clock. For more information, visit www.snl.com.

About North Jersey Community Bank (NJCB):

North Jersey Community Bank was founded by local community and business leaders to provide the highest level of personalized community banking services to Northern New Jersey. With a strong commitment to the communities it serves, the bank offers a variety of innovative deposit and loan products. 

North Jersey Community Bank received a top ten ranking on NJBIZ's 50 Fastest Growing Companies List, was a finalist for the publication's Emerging Business of the Year award and was named to Inc. Magazine's Inc. 500|5000 list as the 64^th fastest growing bank in the country.

In addition, NJCB was also a recipient of the Forbes® Enterprise Awards--the most esteemed and sought after small-business awards in the United States. The Forbes® Enterprise Awards honor the visionary practices and exemplary achievements of a select few small businesses.

NJCB is an Equal Housing and Equal Opportunity Lender, and a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  For more information, call 201-816-8900, go online to the bank's website at www.njcb.com, or visit NJCB's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NJCBfan.

SOURCE North Jersey Community Bank