American Riviera notes rising net income for 2022
American Riviera Bancorp reported a net income of $13.5 million or $2.37 per share for fiscal year 2022 a rise from $11.8 million or $2.09 per share for the same time period last year.
The increase in net income in 2022 as compared to 2021 is mostly due to loan growth, increased interest income on liquid assets and a strong deposit base, the bank said in a press release on Jan. 26.
American Riviera Bank is a registered bank holding company based in Santa Barbara, Calif. American Riviera Bank, the 100% owned subsidiary of American Riviera Bancorp, is a full-service community bank centered on serving the lending and deposit needs of businesses and consumers on the Central Coast.
Net income also rose in the fourth quarter for American Riviera, with the firm earning $4 million, or 70 cents per share, as opposed to $2.7 million or 49 cents per share in the same quarter a year ago.
American Riviera Bank maintained strong credit quality with no other real estate owned, no loans 90 days or more past due and only $3.1 million or 0.34% of total loans on nonaccrual status, which are well supported by collateral and reserves.
American Riviera trades on the Nasdaq and closed on Jan. 26 at $17.94 a share, unchanged from the day before. As of Feb 3, it closed at $18 a share.
“We are pleased to report improved profitability, continued loan growth, expanding capital ratios, strong credit quality and a balance sheet supported by local deposits from relationship clients,” said Jeff DeVine, president and CEO of American Riviera. “The Federal Reserve’s actions to date to increase rates and remove excess liquidity from the financial system have only modestly decelerated loan growth and increased funding costs.”
Net interest margin increased by 3.94% for the fourth quarter of 2022 as compared to 3.69% in the third quarter and 3.12% in the same quarter last year.
Tangible book value per share hit $14.43 on Dec. 31 and was up from the $13.55 that wrapped the third quarter ending Sept. 30 due to solid earnings in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the strong market value of the available-for-sale investment portfolio.
