Elizabethton Federal plans to build, renovate

By Greg Miller
STAR STAFF
gmiller@starhq.com

   Elizabethton Federal Savings Bank plans to begin renovating its facility in downtown Elizabethton and construct a new bank on Highway 19-E in Mountain City, according to Shirley Hughes, President and Chief Executive Officer.
   "We will be doing a complete remodeling of the outside" of the downtown Elizabethton facility, Hughes said. "We will have a very different traditional-style look on the outside that will be conducive to the surrounding buildings. For example, the stately library structure down the street. This building will further enhance the existing block and the downtown area.
   "Not only are our roots downtown, but with our existing strong customer base, we feel as though the main office needs to remain downtown. We've had ample opportunity to go in another direction, but we feel that this is where we need to be.
   "With our having ample room to increase the size of our building, we will be adding additional lanes to our drive through and adding an ATM as well as other improvements. The renovated structure will be an improvement for our entire area."
   Hughes says construction will hopefully begin on the new Mountain City facility in late March. "We've already purchased the land and we're ready to put it out for bids," she said. "Basically, we're ready for construction.
   "We've been there since the early 1970s, and we've outgrown it. Our ongoing customer base necessitates the need for a larger facility," Hughes said.
   "We, as well as our customers, are very excited about these changes and are looking forward to providing greater service to both the Elizabethton and Mountain City areas."
   The number one accomplishment during 2003, Hughes said, "was the ongoing success of our new branch located on State of Franklin Road in Johnson City. During the year, we continued to promote very successfully this new location."
   Total assets at Elizabethton Federal grew to $333,714,731 at the end of last year, according to a news release. "The return on equity (or capital) was 8.51 percent during 2003. This level of earnings enabled Elizabethton Federal to increase its capital (or equity) ratio to 20.12 percent, an extraordinary level for a mutual institution. In fact, this capital ratio places Elizabethton Federal within the top five percent of savings institutions nationwide in regards to capital adequacy and financial soundness."
   Mortgage loans reached $194,907,024. Consumer loans outstanding were $33,841,532.
   Total deposits, the news release states, "grew during 2003 to amount to $260,674,179 on Dec. 31, 2003. Interest to depositors amounted to $6,618,715 during 2003."
   Fluctuations in the Stock Market "don't have a significant impact on our business, basically due to the fact that none of our investments are speculative; all of our investments are federally insured."
   Founded in 1937, Elizabethton Federal is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The institution operates full service facilities in Elizabethton, Johnson City and Mountain City.
   Online banking will be available soon at Elizabethton Federal. For more information, call 543-5050 or log onto the Web site, www.elizfed.com.