N@N

Liberty Bell Bank Reports Consecutive Profitable Quarters

^{Published on 2010-08-20 14:51:10 - Market Wire}
 

MARLTON, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Liberty Bell Bank (OTC:LBBB) today announced earnings of $33,996 for the second quarter 2010, an improvement of $245,219 over the same quarter last yeara™s loss of $211,223. Earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2010 were $100,240 as compared to a loss of $199,426 for the same period last year, an improvement of $299,666.

"Fortunately wea™ve been a fairly conservative lender all along, and we see comparatively little loan loss exposure. Because of our history of conservative lending, we believe that wea™ll not have material losses when, as circumstances necessitate, we liquidate collateral."

Highlights for the second quarter 2010 include:

• Net interest income for the second quarter 2010 increased by $235,641 or 20% from the second quarter 2009.
• Net interest margin increased to 3.69% for the second quarter 2010 as compared to 3.07% for the second quarter 2009.
• Net interest margin increased to 3.60% for the six months ended June 30, 2010 as compared to 3.10% for the same period last year
• Deposits for the Mount Laurel branch that opened in late February 2009 have grown to $14.5 million
• Net loans increased $4.8 million or nearly 4% since year-end 2009
• Non accrual loans are $6.5 million or 4.71% of the loan portfolio, up from $6.1 million or 4.59% at December 31, 2009

aThis has been a long difficult period for the economy and for banking in general. We are most pleased to enjoy our third consecutive profitable quarter, which is a trend we hope to continue,a said President and CEO Kevin Kutcher. He added, aIn the face of industry wide loan challenges to which we have not been immune, our net interest income, what we see as a measure of our core business, is up solidly and our net interest margin has improved rather significantly compared to the second quarter last year, owing largely to our ability to capitalize on opportunities to reduce our funding costs.a

aAdmittedly, in this difficult economic time, some of the improvement wea™ve enjoyed in our net income has been diluted by our non-accrual loans,a said SVP and Chief Lending Officer John Herring. He added, aFortunately wea™ve been a fairly conservative lender all along, and we see comparatively little loan loss exposure. Because of our history of conservative lending, we believe that wea™ll not have material losses when, as circumstances necessitate, we liquidate collateral.a

SVP and Chief Deposit Officer Jim Greene added, aWe are focused on developing our core business checking base and wea™re enjoying success improving our overall deposit funding mix. Community based businesses prefer doing business locally. We are rapidly and increasingly becoming known as the local bank for community based businesses. Our net interest margin is benefitting as our growth in core business deposits helps lower our overall cost of funds and expands our banking relationships.a

All disclosure contained in this press release is qualified in its entirety by the more complete information contained in the Banka™s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, which was filed with the FDIC on August 16, 2010. The Bank will furnish a copy of the 10-Q to any person requesting same upon written request made to Mr.Kevin L. Kutcher, Chief Executive Officer, at the Banka™s offices located at 145 North Maple Ave., Marlton, New Jersey 08053.

The Bank is a New Jersey chartered commercial bank that maintains offices in Cherry Hill, Marlton, Moorestown, and Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. Some discussions in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements of the Banka™s plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions, and involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various important factors (some of which are beyond the Banka™s control). The following factors, among others, could cause the Banka™s financial performance to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements: unexpected loan losses, the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which the Bank conducts operations; the effects of, and changes in, trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations; the perceived overall value of the Banka™s products and services by users, including the features, pricing and service compared to competitorsa™ products and services; the impact of changes in financial servicesa™ laws and regulations; increased deposit insurance assessments; increased shareholder activism; technological changes; acquisitions; changes in consumer spending and saving habits; and the success of the Bank at managing the risks involved in the foregoing. The Bank cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. The Bank also cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect managementa™s analysis only as of the date on which they are given.