Amid losses, Community West hit with regulatory order
The parent company of Goleta-based Community West Bank has reported an $8.6 million loss for the fourth quarter and disclosed a consent order from banking regulators.
Community West Bancshares said Feb. 1 that its fourth-quarter performance was impacted by a $6.7 million allowance against deferred taxes and a $5.9 million loan-loss provision. In the year-earlier quarter, its loan loss provision was $1.3 million.
For the full year, Community West had a net loss of $10.5 million, compared to net income of $2.1 million in 2010. The loan loss provision for 2011 was $14.6 million, compared to $8.7 million the year before.
Community West’s performance runs counter to the trend of other regional banks, most of which have been posting smaller loan loss provisions and higher levels of profitability. Longtime CEO Lynda Nahra left Community West last year to become market president for Pacific Western Bank.
The bank’s consent order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency includes an agreement to come up with a three-year plan to maintain a tier-one leverage ratio of at least 9 percent of assets, and a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 12 percent. The bank’s tier one ratio stands at 8.26 percent and its total risk-based capital ratio at 11.8 percent as of the end of the fourth quarter.
CEO Martin E. Plourd said that while the bank has made progress in some areas, “the continuing high level of non-performing assets and related credit costs have adversely affected our operating results.” He said the company may be able to recover some of its non-cash charges if the quality of its loan portfolio improves.
Community West’s share price dropped 8.3 percent to $1.65 following the after-market announcement.
