Local banks earn high ratings

Nine South Florida banks earned BauerFinancial’s most recent quarterly five-star, or superior, ratings, a considerable achievement in the midst of a national banking crisis. Some of the local banks have avoided the credit swaps and shaky mortgages that have hurt national banks, and others only work very locally. Coconut Grove Bank; City National Bank of Florida; American National Bank; Coral Gables-based First Bank; First National Bank of South Miami; Fort Lauderdale-based Flagler Bank; Davie-based Floridian Community Bank; Miami-based Intercontinental Bank; and U.S. Century Bank, based in Miami, all got the highest ratings from the Coral Gables-based financial services ratings group. Ginger Martin, president and chief executive of American National Bank, of Oakland Park, said her bank has stuck to the basics.