By Staff Report Monday, April 30th, 2012

First-quarter profits at Community West Bancshares were up 38 percent to $819,000, the Goleta-based banking company said April 30.

The parent of Community West Bank is under regulatory orders from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that limit its ability to pay out dividends, sell stock or incur new debts without the prior approval of federal banking overseers.

The order with the Federal Reserve Bank was announced April 23, three months after the OCC order, which specifically put the bank under a three-year plan to maintain its tier-one leverage ratio at a minimum 9 percent of assets and its total risk-based ratio at a minimum of 12 percent.

The bank reported that its capital ratios increased during the first quarter, with its total risk-based capital ratio climbing to 12.43 percent at the end of March, up from 11.8 percent at the end of 2011. Its tier-one leverage ratio climbed to 8.52 percent from 8.26 percent.

During the first quarter, the bank announced that it had implemented an operational restructuring plan. CEO and President Martin Plourd, who took the helm last year, said in an earnings release that the plan “is aimed at restoring health and stability to the organization by strengthening the balance sheet, aligning our operations with the current market environment, focusing on our footprint and restoring the bank to sustainable profitability.”

He said the bank had made “meaningful progress” in those areas during the quarter but that a “continuing high level of non-performing assets and related credit costs continue to hamper our operating results.”