First Southern Bank Announces Three New Hires with the Addition of Mike Brown in Ponte Vedra and Doreen Londono-Garcia and Connie Buencamino in the Bank’s Winter Park Office as Part of Its Ongoing Expansion

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of its ongoing expansion, First Southern Bank announced today that it has added three new hires to its offices in Florida. Mike Brown has joined the bank as Senior Vice President & Commercial Lender in the North Florida Region and will be based in First Southern Bank’s Ponte Vedra office. He will be responsible for developing, managing and servicing new commercial real estate accounts within the area market, and providing customers with the best banking solutions to meet all of their business’ financial objectives and goals.

“As First Southern Bank continues to grow, we are adding positions throughout our offices to better serve local businesses throughout the state”

In the Central Florida Region, Doreen Londono-Garcia has joined First Southern Bank as Vice President & Market Manager and Connie Buencamino has joined as Assistant Vice President & Office Manager. Both will be based in the bank’s Winter Park office. Londono-Garcia will be responsible for directing all aspects of the Winter Park office including new business development, growing small business deposits, managing personal relationships, overseeing office functions and seeking out new opportunities for the bank within the community. Buencamino will be responsible for overseeing all of the day-to-day activities, operations and productions of the office; ensuring compliance and managing the bank’s tellers and personal bank staff.

“As First Southern Bank continues to grow, we are adding positions throughout our offices to better serve local businesses throughout the state,” said Lynne Wines, President and CEO of First Southern Bank. “We’ve hired Mike, Doreen and Connie, all accomplished bankers with great reputations in their respective markets, to help build our offices, to provide excellent service in their communities and meet all of our clients’ needs.”

Prior to joining First Southern Bank, Mike Brown, with over twenty years of financial and real estate experience, has held a number of high-level banking positions in the Jacksonville area market including serving as Regional Manager at Everbank Financial Corp, Commercial Lender at FirstAtlantic Bank and Market Manager at BankAtlantic BankCorp. Prior to those positions, he served as a District Vice President at Metropolitan Life Insurance’s Real Estate Division in Orlando and Atlanta. He also previously served as an Assistant Project Manager with Crescent Resources, LLC, as a Commercial Real Estate Loan Officer at Bank South and began his career as a Special Assets Officer with Barnett Bank, Inc. in Atlanta. Brown graduated from Florida State University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance. He is a Certified Commercial Investment member, member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, and a former Board Member of NAIOP Finance Committee (NE FL).

Doreen Londono-Garcia brings to First Southern Bank almost 20 years of financial management and business development experience. Prior to joining First Southern Bank, she was the Financial Center Leader for BB&T in Winter Park, spearheading the branch’s financial consulting, new business development and staff management. Prior to that, she served as a Branch Manager for Colonial Bank, also located in Winter Park. Londono-Garcia is a 1991 graduate of Valencia Community College.

Connie Buencamino also brings over 20 years of banking experience to First Southern Bank. Prior to joining First Southern Bank, she served as a Relationship Banker II at BB&T in Winter Park. She had previously joined BB&T as an Assistant Branch Sales Manager. Before that, she was the Sales and Service Supervisor at Colonial Bank, also in Winter Park. While at Colonial Bank, she received the President’s Club Award and Orange County Excellence 100 Shop Score and other awards and recognitions. Buencamino received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Philippines Women’s University in Manila, Philippines.

The addition of Brown, Garcia-Londono and Buencamino is part of the bank’s growth strategy in the state of Florida. First Southern Bank launched its expansion plans in early 2010 designed to reach more clients in more markets. As a result, assets of the bank grew from approximately $400 million to approximately $1 billion, the number of branches grew from only five in South Florida to fifteen in three of the state’s largest population centers, and the number of client accounts grew from approximately 5,400 to approximately 17,000. The bank’s strategy moving forward is to pursue organic growth and to look for acquisitions.

First Southern Bank also recently announced a number of other key hires throughout the state. Tracy L. Keegan was brought in as the bank’s new EVP/CFO & COO; Joseph A. Losch as SVP/Market Executive, Central Florida Region; John G. Klumpp as SVP/Chief Information Officer; Bill Kelley as EVP/Head of Community Banking; Lynda Napolitano as SVP/Commercial Lender, South Florida Region; and Michael C. Samuel and Andrew Hebert, both as SVP/Commercial Lenders in the Central Florida Region. Additionally, Matt Greene was elevated to the position of SVP/Market President of the North Florida Region.

First Southern Bancorp (OTC Bulletin Board: FSOF) had total consolidated assets of $1.2 billion at June 30, 2012. The Company provides comprehensive banking products and services through its First Southern Bank franchise. First Southern’s strong capital positions it as one of the most secure banks in the United States. The bank serves Northeast, South and Central Florida with 15 locations in St. Johns, Broward, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Seminole and Volusia counties.

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