Bridging troubled waters.

• Position: TRIAD REGION - NewBridge Bancorp displayed its financial report - Financial report - Brief article

When Gov. Pat McCrory cites the "Carolina Comeback," he could use NewBridge Bancorp as a prime example. The Greensboro-based company reported net losses topping $90 million between 2007 and 2012 and relied on $52 million from federal bank bailout funds to stay afloat as its stock traded below $1 in March 2009. But the bank managed to right the ship by working through a slew of nonperforming loans--they've been trimmed to $9 million from $85 million in 2009--and focusing on business lines including wealth management, treasury services and lending to companies with more than $25 million in revenue. Buoyed by a better economy, NewBridge's cumulative profits have exceeded $32 million over the last two years. "We feel like we reinvented our bank in a very positive way," Chief Banking Officer Spence Broadhurst says. After raising $56 million in 2013, the company repaid the feds and received a green light to expand by acquisitions. It entered Charlotte in 2013 and bought Raleigh-based CapStone Bank for $63.6 million last year. NewBridge had more loan volume in those two markets as of Dec. 31 than in the Triad, which is home...