Mr. Ernst is President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Providence Bank since July 2007. From 2003 through 2007 Mr. Ernst served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Cactus Commerce Bank (since renamed Community Bank of Arizona), in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Mr. Ernst organized Cactus Commerce Bank with Kenneth Lehman and Marcus Faust (both of whom also serve as Directors of Providence Bank). Although Cactus Commerce Bank was not ‘for sale’, its superior asset mix attracted an out-of-state bank, which purchased Cactus Commerce Bank for 313% of book value in a transaction that was completed 34 months after Cactus Commerce Bank was organized.
From 1997 through 2003, Mr. Ernst served as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Meridian Bank (formerly Community Bank of Arizona) in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From 1997 through 2001, Meridian Bank’s average return on equity was over 20% and, after electing in 2002 to be treated as a Subchapter S corporation, its average return on equity for 2002 and 2003 was over 27%. Meridian Bank’s assets grew from $124 million in December 31, 1997, to over $358 at December 31, 2002. Mr. Ernst focused Meridian Bank on servicing small businesses and professionals.
In 1991, Mr. Ernst organized Mohave State Bank, Lake Havasu, Arizona, and he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from inception through 1997. For its first 5 full years of operations, 1992 through 1996, Mohave State Bank earned an average return on equity of over 13.5%, and for the four years ended 1996, it earned an average return on equity of over 16%.
Mr. Ernst received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Western Illinois University, where he also earned a minor degree in Finance and Marketing. Mr. Ernst is also a graduate of the University of Virginia Graduate School of Retail Bank Management. Mr. Ernst has also been involved in many community and civic organizations throughout his career. Mr. Ernst resides in Winter Haven.
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