Santa Cruz County Bank Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend Payment to Shareholders

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., June 22, 2023 -- Santa Cruz County Bank www.sccountybank.com (OTCQX: SCZC), with assets over $1.73 billion, is a top-rated community bank headquartered in Santa Cruz County. The Bank reported that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share. The dividend is payable on July 13, 2023 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 7, 2023.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2023, Santa Cruz County Bank reported $8.9 million in net income, a 65% increase over the first quarter in 2022. Return on average tangible equity was 20.90% for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.

The Bank's capital position significantly exceeds regulatory levels for being considered "well-capitalized" at 10.99% tier 1 capital and 14.71% total risk-based capital ratio as of March 31, 2023. Shareholders' equity grew to $204.2 million as of March 31, 2023, and improvement of $3 million due to a decrease in the amount of after-tax unrealized losses on available for sale securities portfolio during the quarter. The adoption of the Current Expected Credit Loss ("CECL") methodology related to our allowance for credit losses on January 1, 2023 resulted in a decrease in retained earnings by $3.3 million. The tangible book value per share of Santa Cruz County Bank's common stock at March 31, 2023 was $20.91, an increase of $2.78 compared to March 31, 2022.

The Bank's strong liquidity position includes $277.8 million in cash and unpledged marketable securities and $422.9 million in unused borrowing capacity at the Federal Home Loan Bank, the Federal Reserve Bank and other correspondent banks as of March 31, 2023.