Chino Commercial Bancorp Reports 2013 First Quarter Earnings

CHINO, Calif., April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Chino Commercial Bancorp (OTCBB: CCBC), the parent company of Chino Commercial Bank, N.A., announced the results of operations for the Bank and the consolidated holding company for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013 with net earnings of $170,640, or an increase of 58% over the previous quarter's earnings of $107,796, and a 19.2% reduction as compared with net income of $203,959 for the same quarter last year. Net income per basic share for the first quarter in 2013 was $0.21 as compared to $0.13 for the previous quarter ended December 31, 2012, and $0.26 for the same quarter last year.

Dann H. Bowman, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are very pleased with the performance of the Bank during the first quarter.  The Bank was recently recognized by the Findley Reports on Financial Institutions by receiving their highest rating of Super Premier Performing Bank.

Economic conditions appear to be rapidly improving in the Inland Empire, and many of our small business customers are reporting better than expected operating results.  At the end of the first quarter the Company reported only two delinquent loans, and suffered no loan losses during the quarter.  

We continue to remain optimistic about the economy, and are eager to continue lending to the businesses and consumers in our community."

Financial Condition
At March 31, 2013, total assets were $121.0 million, an increase of $6.4 million or 5.6% from $114.6 million at December 31, 2012. This is a direct result of the growth of the Company's deposits which increased by 6.0% to $108.3 million at March 31, 2013, an increase from $102.2 million at December 31, 2012. At March 31, 2013, the Company's core deposits represent 90.1% of the total deposits.

Loans declined slightly by $0.5 million or 0.9% during the first quarter from December 31, 2012 with a remaining balance of $61.3 million at March 31, 2013 while the Company's asset quality improved in the first quarter as the level of nonperforming assets to total loans and OREO decreased from 1.96% at December 31, 2012 to 1.71% at March 31, 2013.

Earnings
The Company posted net interest income of $990,365 for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 as compared to $895,490 for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, due to increased average balances in interest-earning assets. Average interest-earning assets were $104.0 million with average interest-bearing liabilities of $57.9 million, yielding a net interest margin of 3.82% for the first quarter of 2012; as compared to the average interest-earning assets of $93.8 million with average interest-bearing liabilities of $53.7 million, yielding a net interest margin of 3.84% for the first quarter of 2012.

Non-interest income totaled $311,783 for the first quarter of 2013, or a decrease of 34.5% from $475,818 earned during the first quarter of 2012. In the first quarter of 2012 the Company experienced a gain on sale of foreclosed assets of $93,871 while in the first quarter of 2013 the Company had no OREO and therefore no gain on sale. Service charges on deposit accounts decreased 10.1% to $279,895 due to decreased income from returned items and overdraft charges. Other miscellaneous income decreased to $10,736 for the first quarter of 2013, compared to $49,934 in the same quarter in 2012 due to legal expense reimbursement received in the first quarter of 2012 that was not repeated in 2013.

General and administrative expenses were $1,028,012 for the three months ended March 31, 2013, as compared to $1,045,975 for the first quarter of 2012. The largest component of general and administrative expenses was salary and benefits expense of $571,023 for the first quarter of 2012, as compared to $573,281 for the three months ended March 31, 2012. Legal and professional fees decreased $12,600 or 18.2% to $56,509 in the first quarter of 2013 compared to $69,109 in the first quarter of 2012 due to professional service agreements that were not renewed in 2013. Other expenses decreased by $11,639 for the comparable three-month period due mainly to expenses of other real estate incurred prior to the sale in 2012 that was not repeated in 2013.

Income tax expense was $100,864 for the three months ended March 31, 2013 as compared to $121,374 for the three months ended March 31, 2012. The effective income tax rate for the first quarter of 2013 and 2012 is approximately 37.2% and 37.3%, respectively.

Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. Readers are cautioned not to unduly rely on forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ from those projected. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including but not limited to the health of the national and California economies, the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled employees, customers' service expectations, the Company's ability to successfully deploy new technology and gain efficiencies there from, changes in interest rates, loan portfolio performance, and other factors detailed in the Company's SEC filings.

SOURCE Chino Commercial Bancorp