text: *Noninterest Expense*. Total noninterest expense for 2002 was $59.1 million, an increase of $4.0 million, or 
  7.3%, as compared to 2001. Noninterest expense for 2001 amounted to $55.1 million, an increase of $3.4 million or 
  6.3% as compared to 2000. An important measure in determining whether a banking company effectively managed 
  noninterest expenses is the efficiency ratio, which is calculated by dividing noninterest expense by the sum of net 
  interest income on a tax-equivalent basis and noninterest income. Our efficiency ratio for 2002 was 51.96% which 
  represented improvement when compared to 53.82% for 2001, and 53.11% for 2000. 