NewBridge Bancorp (NASDAQ: NBBC) Reports Solid Third Quarter 2015 Results

GREENSBORO, N.C., Oct. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Shareholder Value

• As previously announced, on October 12, 2015 NewBridge Bancorp (the "Company" or "NewBridge") entered into a definitive merger agreement with Yadkin Financial Corporation (NYSE: YDKN), pursuant to which Yadkin will acquire NewBridge.  The transaction is expected to close early in the second quarter of 2016.
• Tangible book value per share increased $0.16 from the prior quarter to $5.95 as of September 30, 2015.
• A quarterly cash dividend of $0.015 was paid on October 15, 2015.

Third Quarter 2015 Highlights

• Net income totaled $5.57 million or $0.14 per diluted share.
• Operating net income grew 11% to $5.64 million from same quarter last year.
• Organic loan growth totaled $21 million for the quarter and $144 million for the year to date period.
• Annualized organic loan growth totaled 4% for the quarter and 11% for the year to date period.
• Core deposits increased $44 million for the quarter and $121 million for the year to date period.
• Annualized organic core deposit growth totaled 12% for the quarter and 13% for the year to date period.
• Demand deposits equaled 19% of total deposits.
• Nonperforming loans were 0.37% of loans held for investment and annualized net chargeoffs for the quarter were 0.00%.

The Company today reported earnings for the three month period ended September 30, 2015.  Net income available to common shareholders totaled $5.57 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to $5.1 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, net income available to common shareholders totaled $15.3 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared to $9.4 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the prior year period.  For the three and nine months ended September 30, merger expenses were $106,000 and $2.5 million for 2015, compared to $10,000 and $4.9 million for 2014.  Per share data for 2015 are impacted by the 1.735 million shares issued in the Premier Commercial Bank acquisition.

Pressley A. Ridgill, President and CEO, commented: "Our third quarter results continue to display solid business fundamentals.  We are excited about the previously announced merger with Yadkin Financial and continue to believe Yadkin is the ideal partner for our Company.  Both of our companies are deeply committed to our communities, and we believe this merger will allow us to provide quality banking services to our clients, a rewarding workplace for our employees and compelling shareholder value."

Net Interest Income

Net interest income increased to $22.9 million for the third quarter of 2015, from $20.5 million for the quarter ending September 30, 2014, and $22.8 million for the quarter ending June 30, 2015.  The increases were primarily due to loan growth, while the comparison to 2014 also reflects the effect of the Premier Commercial Bank acquisition in the first quarter of 2015.  Total average interest-earning assets grew to $2.57 billion for the quarter ending September 30, 2015 from $2.23 billion for the third quarter of 2014.

For the third quarter of 2015, the net interest margin was 3.55%, compared to 3.64% for the second quarter of 2015 and 3.66% for the third quarter of 2014.  The Company's net interest margin reflected continuing pressure due to the low-interest rate environment and the increasingly variable rate composition of its organic loan growth.  Variable LIBOR based commercial credits which reprice rapidly in a rising interest rate environment have increased $131.6 million for the year.

Noninterest Income

Total noninterest income was $4.3 million for the quarter compared to $4.1 million for same period a year ago.  Wealth management services income was $749,000 for both the third and second quarters of 2015 and $719,000 for the third quarter of 2014.  Due primarily to market conditions, mortgage banking revenue declined to $460,000 for the third quarter of 2015 from $511,000 for the second quarter of 2015.  Mortgage banking revenue was $283,000 for the third quarter of 2014.

Noninterest Expense

Total noninterest expense was $18.8 million for the third quarter of 2015, compared to $18.4 million for the second quarter of 2015.  The quarter-over-quarter increase was due to a $916,000 increase in personnel expense primarily related to elevated medical expense of $359,000 and a lower level of loan cost deferral of $474,000 driven by a lower level of loan production.  Noninterest expense was $16.6 million for the third quarter of 2014.  Excluding acquisition-related charges, noninterest expense increased 13% for the quarter, reflecting the Company's growth and investments supporting a larger and more geographically diverse operation.

Balance Sheet

As of September 30, 2015, total assets were $2.77 billion, compared to $2.78 billion as of June 30, 2015, and $2.44 billion as of September 30, 2014.  During the third quarter of 2015, total loan growth of $21.0 million was offset by a modest decrease in investment securities as funds from maturing securities were primarily used to partially fund loan growth.  While annualized organic loan growth slowed to 4% for the quarter versus 11% for the year, the composition of the loan portfolio changed.  Commercial and industrial loans and construction loans increased $53.0 million for the quarter, but were offset by a $23.7 million decline in commercial real estate and a $24.6 million decline in residential loans.  Total deposits were $2.00 billion at September 30, 2015, up $6.6 million from June 30, 2015.  Total core deposits, however, grew $43.7 million, or 12.0% (annualized) including $14.1 million of noninterest bearing demand deposit growth.  For the year to date, demand deposits increased $57.8 million and now represent 19% of total deposits.  Core transaction, savings, and money market accounts were 75% of the Company's deposits and totaled $1.49 billion at September 30, 2015.

Asset Quality

Asset quality remained excellent.  Total nonperforming assets declined to $9.2 million at September 30, 2015 from $11.4 million a year earlier.  The percentage of nonperforming assets to total assets was 0.33% at September 30, 2015, compared to 0.47% at September 30, 2014.  Total nonperforming loans declined to $7.4 million at September 30, 2015, or 0.37% of loans held for investment, from $7.8 million, or 0.45% of loans held for investment at September 30, 2014, but was up from $5.7 million, or 0.28% of loans held for investment at June 30, 2015.

A net recovery of $9,000 was recorded for the third quarter of 2015 compared to net chargeoffs of $532,000 for the third quarter of 2014.  The Company's allowance for credit losses to total loans held for investment excluding acquired loans was 1.20%, slightly down from the second quarter of 2015, and in line with a consistent quarterly decline since March 31, 2014.  The ratio of the allowance for credit losses to nonperforming loans was 286% at September 30, 2015, down from 287% at September 30, 2014 and 375% at June 30, 2015.

About NewBridge Bancorp

NewBridge Bancorp (NASDAQ: NBBC) is the holding company for NewBridge Bank, a $2.8 billion community focused bank headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.   Through 42 branches, NewBridge Bank provides a comprehensive array of personal financial solutions including banking, lending, and wealth management services.  The Bank's commercial teams provide customized lending services, including SBA loans, along with sophisticated deposit and treasury management solutions to small businesses and middle market corporations.  With continuous operations dating back to 1910 in the Piedmont Triad Region of North Carolina (Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point), NewBridge Bank's served markets have expanded to also include Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, and Wilmington in North Carolina, and Greenville-Spartanburg and Charleston in South Carolina.  To make NewBridge Bank your preferred financial partner, please visit us in our offices or online at www.newbridgebank.com.

Disclosures About Forward Looking Statements

The discussions included in this document and its exhibits may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933.  Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially.  For the purposes of these discussions, any statements that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward looking statements.  Such statements are often characterized by the use of qualifying words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "plans," "projects," or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of NewBridge and its management about future events.  The accuracy of such forward looking statements could be affected by factors including, but not limited to:  the ability to obtain regulatory approvals and meet other closing conditions to the proposed merger, including approval by Yadkin and NewBridge shareholders, on the expected terms and schedule; delay in closing the merger; difficulties and delays in integrating the Yadkin and NewBridge businesses or fully realizing cost savings and other benefits; business disruption following the proposed merger; changes in asset quality and credit risk; the inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth; changes in interest rates and capital markets; inflation; client borrowing, repayment, investment and deposit practices; client disintermediation; the introduction, withdrawal, success and timing of business initiatives; competitive conditions; the inability to realize cost savings or revenues or to implement integration plans and other consequences associated with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; economic conditions; the reaction to the transaction of the companies' clients, employees and counterparties; and the impact, extent and timing of technological changes, capital management activities, and other actions of the Federal Reserve Board and legislative and regulatory actions and reforms. These forward looking statements express management's current expectations, plans or forecasts of future events, results and condition, including financial and other estimates and expectations regarding recently completed or proposed acquisitions and the general business strategy of engaging in bank acquisitions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by forward looking statements are discussed in NewBridge's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission  ("SEC"), including without limitation its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.  NewBridge undertakes no obligation to revise or update these statements following the date of this press release.

Additional Information About the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find It

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed transaction involving Yadkin and NewBridge. This material is not a solicitation of any vote or approval of the Yadkin or NewBridge shareholders and is not a substitute for the joint proxy statement/prospectus or any other documents which Yadkin and NewBridge may send to their respective shareholders in connection with the proposed merger. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

In connection with the proposed transaction, Yadkin intends to file with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 that will include a joint proxy statement of Yadkin and NewBridge and a prospectus of Yadkin, as well as other relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction.  Investors and security holders are also urged to carefully review and consider each of Yadkin's and NewBridge's public filings with the SEC, including but not limited to their Annual Reports on Form 10-K, their proxy statements, their Current Reports on Form 8-K and their Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.  Both NewBridge and Yadkin will mail the joint proxy statement/prospectus to their respective shareholders.  BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISIONS, INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF YADKIN AND NEWBRIDGE ARE URGED TO CAREFULLY READ THE ENTIRE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE PROPOSED MERGER WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.   Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement/prospectus (when available) and other filings containing information about Yadkin and NewBridge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.  The joint proxy statement/prospectus (when available) and the other filings may also be obtained free of charge at Yadkin's website at www.yadkinbank.com, or at NewBridge's website at www.newbridgebank.com.

Yadkin, NewBridge and certain of their respective directors and executive officers, under the SEC's rules, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies of Yadkin and NewBridge's shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction.  Information about the directors and executive officers of Yadkin and their ownership of Yadkin common stock is set forth in the proxy statement for Yadkin's 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, as filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on April 10, 2015.  Information about the directors and executive officers of NewBridge and their ownership of NewBridge's common stock is set forth in the proxy statement for NewBridge's 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, as filed with the SEC on a Schedule 14A on April 2, 2015. Additional information regarding the interests of those participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in the transaction may be obtained by reading the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available.  Free copies of this document may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph. release.