NOVATO -- Circle Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of Circle Bancorp, today reported year-to-date net income of $1.52 million, a 14 percent increase over $1.34 million for the same period 2009.
The parent company, Circle Bancorp, reported earnings of $295,000 for the third quarter and nine-month net income of $1.03 million, up $23,000 from the nine-month period in 2009.
It was the 45th consecutive profitable quarter for the bank, which operates branches in Sonoma and Marin counties as well as San Francisco. Subsequent to the quarter’s end, the bank announced that it had filed an S-1 statement with the Security and Exchange Commission with the intention of completing an initial public offering of shares of stock in the company.
Circle Bank’s third-quarter earnings for the period ending Sept. 30, 2010, were $431,000, compared with$490,000 for the same period of the prior year. The decrease was attributed primarily to investments in staffing and infrastructure, including the hiring of two new senior officers and four employees during the quarter.
At Sept, 30, 2010, total net assets for Circle Bank were $316 million, up three percent from the previous quarter and up 24 percent from Sept. 30, 2009.
"We are encouraged by the steady although slow progress of the economy in the North Bay,” said Kim Kaselionis, chief executive officer and president of the bank. “Our loan demand is strong; our SBA program continues to attract business customers, and which, along with the support of local communities and employers, has been extremely well received.
“With the funds raised by the IPO,” she said, “we hope to be able to continue our expansion of branches and services in the Bay Area. While the local economy struggles to recover, many larger national banks are abandoning small businesses and local communities. This is our niche, and we are positioned to best serve our current and future customers.”
For the quarter, loans past due 30 or more days as a percentage of total assets declined from 2.1 percent at June 30 to 1.9 percent at Sept. 30. Total non-performing assets as a percentage of total assets increased from 2.0 percent at June 30 to 2.5 percent at Sept. 30.
“We continue to closely monitor our loan portfolio and we do not, at this time, see any material deterioration in the bank’s loan portfolio,” stated Pat McCarty, the bank’s chief credit officer. “We are committed to prudent management of the portfolio, which has been our hallmark and which has contributed significantly to our ability to be increasingly profitable during a turbulent economy.”
