THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408110579
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Bank of Suffolk said a combination of strong loan growth and control of noninterest expenses produced a 15 percent increase in its second-quarter net income.
The community bank reported record earnings of $359,000 for the three months ended June 30, up from $312,000 in the comparable quarter in 1993.
Its per-share earnings were 42 cents, down from 44 cents in the year-earlier quarter.
The bank, which had a public stock offering earlier this year, had 910,000 shares outstanding on June 30, a 28 percent increase from one year earlier.
Despite an 11 percent increase in the average loan balance during the recent quarter, the Suffolk bank said its net interest margin narrowed to 4.38 percent from 4.88 percent in last year's second quarter. Net interest margin is a measure of the spread between a bank's cost of funds and the yield on its loans and investments.
The bank also reported that its return on average assets slipped slightly to 1.54 percent from 1.57 percent in the 1993 second quarter.
For the six months through June 30, its net income totaled $698,000, an 8 percent increase from $648,000 for the first half of 1993.
Earnings per share were 90 cents, down from 92 cents in last year's first half.
The Bank of Suffolk, which last week announced an agreement to merge with the Bank of Waverly, said its loans on June 30 totaled $49.29 million, a 9 percent increase from one year earlier. Meanwhile, its securities increased 4 percent to $36.86 million.
The merger of the Suffolk and Waverly banks, if approved by shareholders and regulators, will become a bank holding company with combined assets of $148 million and capital of $22.93 million. by CNB