We have successes to report. The company enjoyed strong year-over-year organic loan growth in all categories, and both the average of total loans and core commercial loans increased. There was healthy growth in net interest income in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter, and we ended the year with an extremely strong capital position. During 2008, we will need to keep a close eye on our credit quality as well as enterprise-wide risk management to remain secure as possible as the market churns around us.
It is also important to note that during a time of great turbulence in the market, the sub-prime mortgage crisis has affected us only indirectly. While we are prepared for a weakening of the economy, we continue to focus on expansion and growth. This is an enviable position, and we are grateful to the sensible and conservative decisions made by the bank’s leadership which have allowed us to get through the current uncertainty in the global economy. A position of stability will allow us to be nimble and better able to react to rapid changes.
An area of challenge has been, and continues to be our financial performance. Revenue has not grown satisfactorily, and this is a trend I am determined to reverse. There are some areas of significant strength in our financial picture, and we need to emphasize how those elements can contribute more effectively to the bottom line. But we also need to do a better job of meeting the real needs of our customers by offering services that capitalize on our entire portfolio, not on just a few products. The key to this picture is cross-selling, and our customer retail segment strategy will be focused on that effort to help maximize the value of the customers we already have and bring new customers through our doors.
However, I realize that we still need to be aggressive in moving our company forward. To that end, I have committed to four goals during 2008. First, we have targeted revenue for 2008 to return to 2006 levels. Second, we are planning for growth in our income from continuing operations. Third, we want to see growth in our Earnings Per Share (EPS), and fourth, we want to see continued solid improvement in our efficiency ratio.
Working closely with our Board of Directors, we are focused on the future. We expect 2008 to be a year of investment and foundation-building for the future in our strategies, our technology and our people, 2009 to be a year of demonstrated success and sustainability, and 2010 to be the year of breakthrough growth and profitability.