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Liberty Bell Bank Reports Profitable 2010

^{Published on 2011-03-11 10:55:59 - Market Wire}
 

MARLTON, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Liberty Bell Bank (OTC: LBBB) today announced earnings of $206,879 for the year 2010, an improvement of $621,773 over the prior year 2009 loss of ($414,894). Net Income per common share was $0.07 as compared to the prior year 2009 loss per common share of ($0.15).

"Against the backdrop of a difficult economy, we saw modest growth in our overall loan portfolio during 2010 a" some of which we attribute to our growing commercial checking base"

For the year 2010:

• Net interest income, which is our core revenue, increased $719,308 or 14.7% over prior year 2009.
• Net interest margin increased to 3.64% for the year 2010 as compared to 3.19% for the year 2009.
• Total loans increased $4.1 million or 3.1% since year-end 2009 to $137.1 million.
• Non accrual loans at December 31, 2010 are $9.4 million or 6.85% of the loan portfolio, up from $6.1 million or 4.59% at December 31, 2009. Non Accrual loans averaged $9.6 million for the year 2010.
• Total deposits have increased $4 million or 2.7% since year-end 2009.
• Non-interest bearing core checking increased $3 million or 37.5% since year-end 2009 and are up from 5.5% of total deposits at year-end 2009 to 7.3% of total deposits at December 31, 2010.
• Non interest expenses of $5.3 million for the year 2010 represents an increase of 3.4% or $172,000 in total year over year, and is largely related to increased staff commitment to our business development efforts that resulted in desired improved deposit mix and, in turn, net interest income and margin.
• Deposits for the Mount Laurel branch that opened in late February 2009 have grown to $26.3 million.

aOur continuing success in building our non-interest bearing core checking base comprised largely of business accounts is translating into increasing and sustained improvements in our deposit mix that in turn greatly contributed to our increased net interest income improvements and to our higher net interest margin,a said President and CEO Kevin Kutcher. aOne of the upsides to the economic and banking turmoil is increased customer appreciation for community banking. Wea™re seeing households and local businesses feeling disenfranchised by larger banks and continuing consolidation. While the larger banks are either taking things away or charging more for less, we proudly hold on to things like truly free checking, and we do not gouge ATM card users with excessive fees. Our focus remains on developing sustained value in relationships.a

aAgainst the backdrop of a difficult economy, we saw modest growth in our overall loan portfolio during 2010 a" some of which we attribute to our growing commercial checking base,a said SVP and Senior Loan Officer John Herring. aAnd, while problem loans increased during 2010, we believe the worst is behind us and wea™re beginning to see signs of improvement. Our ongoing rigorous quarterly loan loss reserve adequacy analysis supports the appropriateness of our current reserves for possible loan losses and, as wea™ve noted previously, we do not believe wea™ll experience material unforeseen losses as the problem loans we have work through the foreclosure and workout process.a

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.