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American Business Bank Announces Its Results for the Fourth Quarter Ended December 31st 2008, Including 13% Loan Growth and 17%

^{Published on 2009-01-12 13:54:33, Last Modified on 2009-01-12 13:56:17 - Market Wire}
 

LOS ANGELES--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--AMERICAN BUSINESS BANK (Bank) (OTCBB:AMBZ) today reported net income of $1,588,000 for the fourth quarter 2008, a 10% increase over the $1,438,000 earned in the fourth quarter of 2007. Total earnings for the year ended December 2008 were $5,454,000, a 5.3% increase over the $5,177,000 earned in 2007. Earnings per share (EPS) in the fourth quarter 2008 increased to $0.44 versus $0.43 in the fourth quarter 2007. EPS for the year 2008 was $1.52 versus $1.57 in 2007. Shares outstanding at the end of the year totaled 3,597,757.

"The year 2008 will be remembered for a very long time as a year of dynamic change for the financial industry. Wall Street firms have disappeared into new entities and many commercial banks saw substantial structural changes to their balance sheets. Quite a number of firms had disappointing results in both profits and asset write downs. In spite of the troubles seen in the industry, our bank performed well and we are pleased with the results. We not only were able to grow the bank but we also grew profits," said Wes Schaefer, Vice Chairman and CFO.

"Our marketing programs were definitely successful in 2008. Over the year, our assets grew over twenty percent including loan growth of thirteen percent. New customers came to us from a variety of industries and service companies. Our customer service staff has an excellent reputation for providing quality, personalized service to our clients. In spite of the issues swirling around the financial sector nationally, we continued to build the bank one customer at a time through dedicated Relationship Managers," said Don Johnson, President and CEO of the Bank.

Robert Schack, Chairman, added "As always, our asset growth met our quality standards. These included well underwritten loans to clients well known to the bank, along with top tier securities purchased for our bond portfolio. We had no non-performing loans, no OREO and incurred no loan charge offs during 2008. Over 60% of the investment portfolio consists of U.S. full faith and credit securities with the remainder primarily invested in high grade municipal bonds. Our funding is obtained through customer relationship deposits with no brokered funds. This is the structure that we used when we started the bank and it will continue to be the structure in the future."

Assets and Liabilities

Total assets increased 21% or $129 million to $742 million at December 31, 2008 as compared to $613 million at December 31, 2007. Loans increased 13% or by $37 million from $282 million to $319 million while investments and federal funds sold increased $92 million, due to deposit growth. Funding the asset growth was a 17% or $97 million increase in deposits.

Interest Income

During the fourth quarter, Net Interest Income rose by $881,000 or 15% over the same quarter in 2007, and for the year ended December 2008, the Net Interest Income increased by $1,702,000 or 7.8% over previous year.

Non-interest Income

Non-interest Income in the fourth quarter of 2008 increased 25.8% to $448,000 from $356,000 in the fourth quarter of 2007. For the year, Non-interest Income rose 57% to $2,093,000 in 2008 from $1,330,000 in 2007.

Credit Quality

Asset quality at quarter-end remains excellent, with zero non-performing loans, no OREO and no charge offs. At quarter-end, the allowance for loan losses stood at $4,224,000 or 1.30% of loans, a level that management considers to be more than adequate for our risk profile.

AMERICAN BUSINESS BANK headquartered in downtown Los Angeles offers a wide range of financial services to the business marketplace. Clients include wholesalers, manufacturers, service businesses, professionals and non-profits. The Bank has opened four Loan Production Offices in strategic areas including our Orange County Office in Irvine, our South Bay Office in Torrance, our San Fernando Valley Office in the Warner Center and our Inland Empire Office in Ontario.