American Riviera Bank announced Monday that assets exceeded $1 billion during the quarter, totaling $1,083,326,000 at March 31, 2021.
The bank shared in a press release that it achieved record unaudited net income of $2,560,000 ($0.50 per share) for the three months ended March 31, 2021, which represents a 119% increase in net income from the $1,171,000 ($0.23 per share) for the same reporting period in the prior year.
This also exhibits an 8% increase in net income from the $2,379,000 ($0.47 per share) reported for the prior quarter ended Dec. 31, 2020. The bank reported an annualized return on average assets of 1.07% and return on average equity of 12.34% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.
“Reaching $1 billion in assets is a significant milestone for the bank and is a reflection of our growing and loyal client base on the Central Coast,” Larry Koppelma, chair of the board of directors of the bank, said in a statement. “It does present increased regulatory compliance expectations, but we have made the necessary investments in advance of reaching that milestone. We are proud of the hard work and dedication of our employees that made this milestone possible, and on behalf of the board of directors, we owe them our gratitude for both their contribution to the bank’s success and superior service to our clients.”
The bank is experiencing “tremendous” loan and deposit growth, with a 29% increase in loans and 52% increase in deposits since March 31, 2020. Besides the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program loans, total loans for the bank increased $58 million or 10% from March 31, 2020, reaching $662 million. This increase is primarily due to continued demand for residential real estate and commercial real estate loans.
The bank also said in its press release that it maintained strong credit quality with no other real estate owned, no loans 90 days or more past due and only $3.6 million (0.54%) of total loans excluding PPP on non-accrual status, which are well-supported by collateral. Total deposits increased $338 million from March 31, 2020, reaching $983 million at March 31, 2021. Non-interest bearing demand deposit accounts increased $186 million or 85% from the same reporting period in the prior year.
“We funded $118 million in PPP loans to 614 businesses in 2020, and our SBA Department has been actively assisting clients to obtain forgiveness on these loans since last September,” said Jeff DeVine, president and CEO of the bank. “Through March 31, 2021, more than 50% of those clients have received forgiveness, totaling over $60 million in forgiven PPP loans.
“We continue to assist our clients with their forgiveness requests, while also originating First and Second Draw PPP loans under the 2021 appropriation from Congress. Since Dec. 31, 2020, an additional 420 PPP loans have been originated totaling $68 million. It has been an honor to support local businesses and jobs throughout the pandemic.”
The bank concluded that it continues to be “well capitalized” with a Tier 1 Capital Ratio of 11% — well above the regulatory guideline of 8% for well capitalized institutions. The tangible book value per share of American Riviera Bank common stock was $15.97 at March 31, 2021.
email: gmccormick@newspress.com
