Fidelity Southern Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta,
Georgia. We conduct operations primarily through Fidelity Bank, a state chartered
wholly-owned subsidiary bank (the “Bank”). The Bank was organized
as a national banking corporation in 1973 and converted to a Georgia chartered
state bank in 2003. LionMark Insurance Company ("LionMark") is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of FSC and is an insurance agency offering consumer credit related
insurance products. FSC also owns three subsidiaries established to issue trust
preferred securities.
FSC is a legal entity separate and distinct from the Bank. We coordinate the
financial resources of the consolidated enterprise and thereby maintain financial,
operational and administrative systems that allow centralized evaluation of
subsidiary operations and coordination of selected policies and activities.
FSCs operating revenues and net income are derived primarily from cash dividends
received from the Bank.
Our primary lending activities include originating commercial loans to small
and medium sized businesses, SBA loans, consumer installment loans (primarily
indirect automobile loans), construction loans, and residential real estate
loans. Commercial lending consists of the extension of credit for business purposes,
primarily in the Atlanta metropolitan and northern Florida areas. We originate
SBA loans primarily through our SBA loan production offices located in Georgia,
Florida, North Carolina, and Texas. Indirect loans are originated in Georgia,
Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Virginia,
Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. We offer direct installment loans
to consumers on both a secured and unsecured basis. Residential mortgage loans
are offered in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia,
Washington, D.C., Maryland and South Carolina. Residential construction loans
to home builders and developers are originated primarily in the Atlanta, GA,
Savannah, GA, Birmingham, AL, Jacksonville, FL, and Orlando, FL metropolitan
areas.
Commercial and Industrial Lending
We originate commercial and industrial loans, which include certain SBA loans
comprised of partially guaranteed loans and other credit enhanced loans that
are generally secured by business property such as inventory, equipment and
accounts receivable. All commercial loans are evaluated for the adequacy of
repayment sources at the time of approval and are regularly reviewed for any
deterioration in the ability of the borrower to repay the loan. In most instances,
collateral is required to provide an additional source of repayment in the event
of default by the borrower. The amount and type of the collateral varies from
loan to loan depending on the purpose of the loan, the financial strength of
the borrower, and the amount and terms of the loan. In addition, we almost always
require personal guarantees on these loans.
Commercial Real Estate Lending
We engage in commercial real estate lending through direct originations. Our
primary focus is on originating owner-occupied loans to finance real estate
out of which an individual or company will operate their business. Non-owner
occupied real estate loans for investment purposes are made on a selective basis
and only where the borrowers or guarantors add substantial support to the credit.
Loans where the sole source of repayment is derived from the project, or where
the absence of the project’s success would significantly impact the ability
of the borrower to service the debt, are avoided. We make commercial real estate
loans to individuals and to small and medium sized businesses to provide loan
diversification, to generate assets that are sensitive to fluctuations in interest
rates, and to generate deposit and other relationships. Commercial real estate
loans are generally prime-based floating-rate loans or shorter-term (one to
five year) fixed-rate loans.
Indirect Automobile Lending
We purchase, on a nonrecourse basis, consumer installment contracts secured
by new and used vehicles purchased by consumers from franchised motor vehicle
dealers and selected independent dealers located throughout our lending footprint.
A portion of our originated indirect automobile loans is sold with servicing
retained.
Real Estate Construction Lending
We originate real estate construction loans that consist primarily of one-to-four
family residential construction loans made to builders. Loan disbursements are
closely monitored by management to ensure that funds are being used strictly
for the purposes agreed upon in the loan covenants. We employ both internal
staff and external inspectors to ensure that requests for loan disbursements
are substantiated by regular inspections and reviews. Construction and development
loans are similar to all residential loans in that borrowers are underwritten
according to their adequacy of repayment sources at the time of approval. Unlike
conventional residential lending, however, signs of deterioration in a construction
loan or development loan customer’s ability to repay the loan are measured
throughout the life of the loan and not only at origination or when the loan
becomes past due. In most instances, loan amounts are limited to 80% of the
appraised value upon completion of the construction project. We originate real
estate construction loans primarily throughout the metropolitan areas of Atlanta,
GA, Savannah, GA, Birmingham, AL, Jacksonville, FL and Orlando, FL.
Real Estate Mortgage Lending
Our residential mortgage lending focuses on one-to-four family properties. We
offer Federal Housing Authority (“FHA”), Veterans Administration
(“VA”), and conventional and non-conforming residential mortgage
loans. We originate our residential mortgage banking loans primarily in the
Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions through 29 retail loan production offices.
We also operate a wholesale lending office to support our purchase of loans
from qualified brokers and correspondents. We are an approved originator and
servicer for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”)
and the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”), and an approved
originator for loans insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(“HUD”) and the Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”).