Earnings and loans up at Citizens Business Bank
CVB Financial Corp., the parent company of Citizens Business Bank, saw higher net income and loan growth, excluding Paycheck Protection Plan loans, in its second quarter.
The Ontario-based bank, which has four branches in Ventura County and one in Santa Barbara, reported $51.2 million in net income for the quarter ended June 30, or 47 cents per diluted share. The bank’s net income was $41.6 million, or 31 cents per diluted share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Citizen Business Bank’s total loans also went up: Excluding PPP loans, total loans increased by $108.1 million year-over-year.
“Despite the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing low interest rate environment, our pre-tax, pre-provision earnings remain strong,” CEO David Brager said in a news release. “However, the significant liquidity within the economy continues to impact our balance sheet and weigh on our loan growth, with lower than normal utilization rates on lines of credit. Nevertheless, we are seeing positive signs with increased new loan pipelines, and we remain committed to our customer acquisition strategy of seeking to bank the top businesses in our local markets.”
The bank’s financial footing has led it to scaling back precautions it put in place earlier during the pandemic. CVB Financial has returned to credit loss allowances closer to its pre-pandemic levels. In December 2019, the company had a credit loss allowance of $68.7 million, and its credit loss allowance for the second quarter of 2021 was $69.3 million.
