State Bank Financial Corp. Named Top Performing Bank in U.S.

ATLANTA, July 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- State Bank Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: STBZ) has been named the top performing bank in the United States, according to Bank Director magazine's 2011 Bank Performance Scorecard, a ranking of the 150 largest U.S. publicly traded banks and thrifts based on 2010 calendar-year financials.

"We are extremely pleased and humbled to receive this distinction," said Joe Evans, chairman and CEO of State Bank. "As the article so articulately states, we view the building of State Bank as a once in a lifetime opportunity."  On July 24, 2011, State Bank celebrated the second anniversary of its first FDIC-assisted acquisition: the banking franchise of Macon, Georgia-based Security Bank Corp. Since then, State Bank has completed four other acquisitions with the assistance of the FDIC and continues to grow its presence in Middle Georgia and metro Atlanta.

Bank Director's analysis, compiled by research firm Sandler O'Neill, is designed to identify institutions that are strong in three critical areas: profitability, capital and asset quality. The scorecard uses "return on average assets," "return on average equity," and "ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets" as measurements of profitability and capital. The rankings also gauged a bank's "ratio of non-performing assets to loans and other real estate owned," and "ratio of net charge offs to average loans" to measure asset quality.

In 2010, State Bank composite ranking in all these categories placed it significantly ahead of the next nearest competitor.  It recorded 1.66 percent return on average assets (#4 ranking), 13.07 percent return on average equity (#10), 12.42 percent tangible common equity to tangible assets (#10), 1.20 percent non-performing assets to loans and other real estate owned (#17), 0.13 ratio of net charge offs to average loans (#5), for composite score of 35. The second place bank scored 53.5.

As Bank Director's editor wrote in the profile of State Bank: "Companies that are built to be sold are rarely as good as companies that are built to last. But Evans seems intent on building a bank that can do its part to put the Georgia economy back on its feet – a bank that can go the distance."

Bank Director magazine's Third Quarter edition with articles about the Top 150 U.S. Banks and the profile of State Bank will be mailed to subscribers in late July, and is available online at http://www.bankdirector.com/index.php/magazine/archives/3rd-quarter-2011/ .

About State Bank Financial Corporation and State Bank & Trust Company

State Bank Financial Corporation is the holding company for State Bank & Trust Company, one of Georgia's best-capitalized banks, with $2.69 billion in assets throughout Middle Georgia and Metro Atlanta. State Bank has locations in Metro Atlanta, as well as Bibb, Houston, Dooly, and Jones counties in Middle Georgia.  

Over the past twenty-five years, State Bank Chairman and CEO Joe Evans and his management team have led some of Georgia's most successful community banks, including Flag Financial Corp., Century South Banks, and Bank Corporation of Georgia. State Bank Financial Corporation's headquarters are in Atlanta, while State Bank & Trust Company is headquartered in Macon, Georgia.

To learn more about State Bank, visit www.statebt.com.

STATE BANK & TRUST COMPANY

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SOURCE State Bank Financial Corporation