Early results promising for fledgling banks. (community banks in Appleton and Green Bay, WI)

Banks in Appleton, Green Bay among fastest growing

Ken Swattler and David Blohm acknowledge there have been trying times since launching their community banks some four years ago. But you couldn't tell by looking at the results.

The executives built their fledgling banks into two of the fastest-growing small financial institutions in the country. A study by American Banker Research and Sheshenoff Information Services ranked Capital Bank in Green Bay, of which Swattler is president, and American National Bank in Appleton, of which Blohm is president, third and fourth respectively in growth among community banks founded in 1993.

The study looked at a bank's profitability, loan quality, loan growth, capital strength and expense control. Both Swattler and Blohm said profitability is what placed them so high in the rankings.

Capital turned a profit just 14 months after taking its first deposit on Nov. 29, 1993. Today, the bank has $35 million in assets.

American …