Paragon of virtue.

• Position: TRIANGLE REGION

Staying closer to home is paying off for Paragon Commercial. The Raleigh-based owner of Paragon Bank, which provides private- and commercial-banking services for affluent customers and small and midsized businesses, has refocused on North Carolina after selling its Richmond, Va., office in 2011. The move came as Paragon shored up its capital position while it was under regulatory restrictions between 2010 and 2013, stemming from the recession. The bank is now back on offense, adding 32 employees last year as it posted an $8 million profit, up from $4.9 million in 2013 and $3.2 million a year earlier. By the end of 2014, the bank had cut its troubled loans to $6.3 million, from $35 million two years earlier. Founded in 1999 with backing from Bank of Tennessee, Paragon had $1.2 billion in assets as of Dec. 31 and only three offices--Cary, Charlotte and Raleigh. (The Kingsport, Tenn.-based bank now owns 18% of Paragon and its chairman owns another 5%.) Paragon's Cary location opened in October, and has performed "beyond our wildest dreams," says CEO Robert Hatley, a former regional manager at Rocky Mount-based Centura Banks...