Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc. (MNRK)

Monarch Financial Holdings was the holding company for Monarch Bank, a community bank serving the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia. The bank made commercial, real estate and consumer loans and took deposits from local businesses and households. The company also ran a large residential mortgage business under the Monarch Mortgage name, which originated home loans and sold them to investors. Investment and insurance sales rounded out its services.

Monarch Bank opened in Chesapeake, Virginia in the late 1990s, and the holding company was formed in 2005. Its common stock traded on NASDAQ under the symbol MNRK. The company reported its results in two segments, community banking and retail mortgage banking. Its mortgage arm grew into one of the bigger mortgage lenders based in the region and contributed a large share of earnings.

Like many community banks, Monarch grew by opening branches and adding commercial lending teams across Hampton Roads, including Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. Mortgage volumes rose and fell with interest rates, which made earnings more cyclical than at a pure lending bank. The bank remained well capitalized and paid regular dividends to shareholders.

In December 2015 Monarch agreed to merge with TowneBank, a larger Virginia bank based in nearby Suffolk. The all-stock deal closed at the close of business on June 24, 2016, with Monarch shareholders receiving 0.8830 TowneBank shares for each share they owned. Monarch Bank was combined into TowneBank, the mortgage business continued as part of TowneBank's operations, and the MNRK symbol was retired.