Santa Cruz County Bank Reports Record Earnings For the Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2022

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Jan. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Cruz County Bank  (OTCQX: SCZC), with assets of $1.74 billion, is a top-rated community bank headquartered in Santa Cruz County. Today, the Bank announced unaudited earnings for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2022. Net income for the quarter was $10.0 million, an increase of 9% compared to $9.2 million in the prior quarter, and 114% compared to $4.7 million in the same quarter in 2021. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2022 was a record $30.9 million, $9.7 million or 45% over 2021. Basic and diluted earnings per share improved over the prior quarter by $0.10 and $0.11, respectively. Basic and diluted earnings per share in 2022 both improved over 2021 by $1.13. All share data for prior periods have been adjusted to reflect stock dividends and stock splits.

Santa Cruz County Bank President and CEO Krista Snelling commented, "I am honored to announce our 2022 financial results and to congratulate our team. For the twelfth consecutive year, the Bank reported record net income. In addition, we achieved record gross loans and record quarterly net income.

The Bank's outstanding performance is the result of the ongoing discipline and focus of our team of dedicated employees, management team, and directors, who work daily to align operations to achieve strategic goals. Our record loan level indicates that we continue to be regarded as a reliable lender with a demonstrated ability to facilitate requests and successfully deliver borrowing solutions to our clients. The Bank's well-regarded SBA Department continues to contribute to our loan growth and ranks in the Top 100 lenders for SBA 7a loan volume in the nation for the SBA's 2022 fiscal year.

We begin the new year well-positioned for growth and opportunity with a broader geographic reach resulting from the opening of our Salinas branch, our second full-service banking office serving Monterey County. We look forward to continued development of new and existing business relationships and increased community partnerships and employee engagement activities in the communities we serve."

Financial Highlights
Performance highlights as of and for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 included the following:

• Record quarterly net income of $10.0 million increased 9% from $9.2 million in the prior quarter, and 114% from $4.7 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021.

• Total assets of $1.74 billion as of December 31, 2022, a decrease of $117.4 million or 6% compared to $1.86 billion as of September 30, 2022, and an increase of $43.2 million or 3%, compared to $1.70 billion as of  December 31, 2021.

• Record gross loans (excluding PPP) of $1.26 billion, an increase of $29.7 million or 2%, compared to September 30, 2022, and an increase of $151.8 million or 14%, compared to December 31, 2021.

• Credit quality remains strong. Nonaccrual loans totaled $3.2 million, or 0.25% of gross loans, as of December 31, 2022, compared to $2.4 million, or 0.19% of total loans as of the prior quarter-end, and $376 thousand, or 0.03% of total loans as of year-end 2021. The increase during the fourth quarter is primarily due to a delinquent home equity line of credit that is well-secured.

• Provision for loan losses was $642 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to a reversal of $317 thousand for the third quarter of 2022 following the elimination of a qualitative factor related to the pandemic.  Provision for loan losses was $2.3 million for the fourth quarter in 2021. The provision in the fourth quarter of 2022 reflected organic loan growth, especially in construction loans and commercial loans, partially offset by the effect of the elimination of a qualitative factor in the construction loan segment.

• Deposits totaled $1.53 billion at December 31, 2022, a decrease of $125.5 million or 8%, compared to September 30, 2022, and an increase of $34.4 million or 2%, compared to December 31, 2021.

• Net interest margin was 4.83% for the fourth quarter of 2022, as compared to 4.22% in the trailing quarter and 3.78% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Net interest margin was 4.19% in 2022, as compared to 3.99% in 2021.

• For the quarters ended December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, return on average assets was 2.22% and 2.01%, respectively, compared to 1.09% in the fourth quarter of 2021, and the return on average tangible equity was 24.04% and 22.38%, respectively, compared to 11.77% in the fourth quarter of 2021.

• The efficiency ratio was 31.75% for the fourth quarter of 2022, as compared to 36.17% in the trailing quarter and 45.41% in the same quarter of 2021.

• All capital ratios were above regulatory requirements for a well-capitalized institution with a total risk-based capital ratio of 14.94% as of December 31, 2022, as compared to 14.46% at the prior quarter end and 14.88% as of December 31, 2021.

• Book value per share after cash dividends increased to $23.32 at December 31, 2022, compared to $22.06 at September 30, 2022 and $21.80 at December 31, 2021.

Interest Income / Interest Expense and Net Interest Margin
Net interest income is the major earnings component of the Bank. Net interest income of $20.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased $2.4 million or 13% from $18.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, and improved over the 2021 fourth quarter by $5.2 million or 33%. The increases are primarily due to the rise in market interest rates during 2022 and to a lesser degree, the organic loan growth during the quarter and the year ended December 31, 2022. The Bank's cost of funds increased slightly from 0.12% in the third quarter of 2022 to 0.16% in the fourth quarter of 2022. PPP loan fee income has been diminishing, with $57 thousand in the current quarter, $332 thousand in the prior quarter and $1.9 million in the same quarter last year.

For the fourth quarter of 2022, net interest margin was 4.83%, compared to 4.22% in the trailing quarter and 3.78% for the corresponding quarter in 2021. The Bank's 2022 net interest margin has expanded to 4.19% from 3.99% in 2021, primarily due to improvement on yield from earning assets, favorably impacted by multiple rate increases in prime and other indices, despite the net interest margin for 2021 benefiting from a significantly greater amount of PPP fee income than 2022.  The increase of $13.7 million in interest on loans in 2022 compared to 2021, due to a higher interest rate environment in 2022, more than offset decrease in loan fees, mainly attributable to a decrease in $8.0 million PPP fees as the PPP portfolio dwindled down during 2022.