1 EXHIBIT 99.1 INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT January 22, 1997 Board of Directors and Stockholders of Southwest Banks, Inc. Naples, Florida We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Southwest Banks, Inc. and its subsidiaries, First National Bank of Naples and Cape Coral National Bank (collectively, the Company), as of December 31, 1996 and 1995 and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 1996. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Southwest Banks, Inc. and its subsidiaries as of December 31, 1996 and 1995 and the consolidated results of their operations and their consolidated cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 1996 in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. /s/ HILL, BARTH & KING, INC. NAPLES, FLORIDA