Montecito Bank reports growth in assets, drop in loans for Q1
Montecito Bank & Trust’s assets increased more than 14% in the year ended March 31, with “strong” deposit growth, the bank said in its May 2 first-quarter earnings release.
The Santa Barbara-based bank, the largest financial institution based in the tri-county region, said its total assets rose $302.45 million, closing at $2.39 billion, at the end of the first quarter of 2022.
Deposit growth of $303.85 million, or more than 16% year-over-year, pushed quarter-end deposit totals to $2.19 billion, according to the earnings release.
Loans dropped $186.07 million, or 13.56%, year-over-year, because of forgiveness of federal Payroll Protection Program loans, with quarter-end loans totaling $1.19 billion. Loan growth stood at $66.5 million, excluding PPP loans forgiven in the first quarter, according to the bank.
Net income for the first quarter increased nearly 26% to $4.81 million when compared to the first quarter of 2021.
Janet Garufis, the chair and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust, said in a news release that the bank continues to wind down its PPP forgiveness program, assisting clients with their applications daily, and anticipates complete resolution of that program by the end of the second quarter of 2022.
“While our first quarter results are strong, with loans and deposits continuing to grow, we do remain cautious about the potential impacts of rising rates and inflation,” Garufis said.
