RBAZ Bancorp, Inc. Announces Unaudited Financial Results For the Quarter Ending September 30, 2021

Sixth Consecutive Quarter of Earnings Growth


PHOENIX, Oct. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RBAZ Bancorp, Inc. (OTCBB:RBAZ) (the “Company”), parent company of Republic Bank of Arizona (the “Bank” or “RBAZ”), announced a consolidated net income of $524,000, or $0.29 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $1,545,000, or $0.86 per share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2021.

Republic Bank of Arizona announced a net income of $620,000, or $0.34 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $1,667,000, or $0.92 per share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to a net income of $223,000, or $0.12 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 and $394,000, or $0.22 per share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. Current year Bank earnings of $0.92 per share were comprised of $0.64 per share attributable to core operations and $0.36 per share due to impacts from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), offset by $0.08 per share attributable to the settlement of outstanding litigation. Prior year Bank earnings of $0.22 per share were comprised of $0.12 per share attributable to core operations and $0.10 per share due to impacts from PPP.

President and CEO Brian Ruisinger stated “I am pleased to report our third quarter performance as it represents our 6th consecutive quarter of core earnings growth. It is very gratifying to look at our earnings compared to the same quarter only a year ago to see how far this team has come. This quarter had a feel of “back to basics” as we saw significant PPP loan forgiveness and were able to re-dedicate resources to core lending. As a result, we achieved net positive loan growth and exceeded our goal for the quarter.”

Mr. Ruisinger continued, “The Bank remains well-positioned with excess liquidity to fund viable lending opportunities that are presented. With our increased lending limit as a result of our capital raise in the prior quarter, we are able to consider larger proposals than in the past. Deposits decreased slightly in Q3 as we allowed higher cost funds to runoff due to our strong liquidity position. This action resulted in a 17% improvement in our cost of funds over the prior quarter. The national labor shortage has also impacted RBAZ similar to what we have seen and heard around the country. As a result, supporting our growth goals has required greater attention to staffing. Despite this challenge, the team stepped up, and we achieved our quarterly goals.”  

September 30, 2021 Bank Highlights Include:

  • Total loans of $121,396,000 increased $11,475,000, or 10.4%, from December 31, 2020. PPP loans decreased $7,054,000 from December 31, 2020 resulting in an increase of $18,529,000, or 16.9%, in the Bank’s portfolio loans.
  • Total deposits of $202,388,000 were up $35,801,000, or 21.5%, from December 31, 2020 as the Bank continued to achieve results from initiatives introduced in 2020, deepened existing relationships and earned new business through increased marketing efforts and online presence.
  • Total interest income increased $488,000 to $2,073,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 outpacing total interest income of $1,585,000 for the same period of the prior year equating to an increase of 30.8%.
  • Cost of deposits was reduced 52.1% to 0.34% for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 from 0.71% for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.
  • Total non-interest income is up $74,000 to $115,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 compared to $41,000 for the same period of the prior year as the Bank improved fee income from service charges and other cash management services.
  • Total non-interest expense is up $95,000 to $1,073,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 compared to $978,000 for the same period of the prior year resulting primarily from the settlement of outstanding litigation, which originated in 2014.

The Bank remains “Well Capitalized” under the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (CBLR) framework adopted January 1, 2020 as follows:

 
 September 30,
2021 (%)
 Ratio to be Well
Capitalized (%)
CBLR ratio                10.28         8.50
    

About the Company
RBAZ Bancorp, Inc. was established on June 10, 2021 as a single-bank holding company for its Arizona state-chartered bank subsidiary, Republic Bank of Arizona. The Company is traded over-the-counter as RBAZ.

About the Bank
Republic Bank of Arizona is a locally owned, community bank in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona. RBAZ is a full service, community bank providing deposit and loan products and convenient, on-line and mobile banking to individuals, businesses and professionals. The Bank was established in April 2007 and is headquartered at 645 E. Missouri Avenue, Suite 108, Phoenix, AZ. Our second location is at 6909 E. Greenway Parkway, Suite 150, Scottsdale, AZ. The Bank is the wholly-owned subsidiary of RBAZ Bancorp, Inc. For further information, please visit our web site: www.republicbankaz.com.

Forward-looking Statements
This press release may include forward-looking statements about the Company and the Bank (collectively referred to herein as the “Company”), for which the Company claims the protection of safe harbor provisions contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s knowledge and belief as of today and include information concerning the Company’s possible or assumed future financial condition, and its results of operations and business. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include fluctuations in interest rates, government policies and regulations (including monetary and fiscal policies), legislation, economic conditions, borrower capacity to repay, operational factors and competition in the geographic and business areas in which the Company conducts its operations. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available at the time of the release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

  
               Unaudited Summary Financial Information
 RBAZ Bancorp, Inc. (consolidated)*Republic Bank of Arizona
 For the three
months
For the nine
months
For the three
months
For the nine
months
 
 ended September 30ended September 30,ended September 30,Year-End
  2021 2021 2021 2020 2021 2020 2020
 (dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Summary Income Data:       
Interest income$2,073$5,590$2,073$1,585$5,590$4,293$6,137
Interest expense 259 689 175 282 586 883 1,187
Net interest income 1,814 4,901 1,898 1,303 5,004 3,410 4,950
Provision for loan losses 98 124 98 71 124 71 100
Non-interest income 115 314 115 41 314 86 153
Non-interest expense 1,119 3,073 1,073 978 3,011 2,915 3,846
Realized loss on sales of securities - 7 - - 7 2 2
Income before income taxes 712 2,011 842 295 2,176 508 1,155
Provision for income tax 188 466 222 72 509 114 301
Net income$524$1,545$620$223$1,667$394$854
Per Share Data:       
Shares outstanding end-of-period 1,805 1,805 1,807 1,807 1,807 1,807 1,807
Earnings per common share$0.29$0.86$0.34$0.12$0.92$0.22$0.47
Cash dividend declared$-$-$-$-$-$-$-
Total shareholders’ equity$18,574$18,574$24,202$16,503$24,202$16,503$16,982
Book value per share$10.29$10.29$13.39$9.13$13.39$9.13$9.40
Selected Balance Sheet Data:       
Total assets$228,063$228,063$228,063$182,410$228,063$182,410$190,348
Securities available-for-sale, at fair value 37,384 37,384 37,384 29,112 37,384 29,112 32,935
Securities held-to-maturity 7,765 7,765 7,765 5,401 7,765 5,401 6,429
Loans 121,396 121,396 121,396 118,218 121,396 118,218 109,921
Allowance for loan losses 1,396 1,396 1,396 1,230 1,396 1,230 1,224
Deposits 202,093 202,093 202,388 134,201 202,388 134,201 166,587
Other borrowings 5,873 5,873 - 29,744 - 29,744 5,000
Shareholders’ equity 18,574 18,574 24,202 16,503 24,202 16,503 16,982
Performance Ratios:       
Return on average shareholders’ equity (annualized) (%) 11.28 11.09 10.25 5.44 11.10 3.28 5.27
Net interest margin (%) 3.14 3.08 3.38 3.04 3.20 3.22 3.23
Average assets$232,079$217,497$232,079$176,344$217,497$146,700$158,639
Return on average assets (annualized) (%) 0.90 0.95 1.06 0.51 1.02 0.36 0.54
Shareholders’ equity to assets (%) 8.14 8.14 10.61 9.05 10.61 9.05 8.92
Efficiency ratio (%) 58.01 58.93 52.78 72.05 56.14 82.44 74.56
Asset Quality Data:       
Nonaccrual loans$-$-$-$-$-$-$-
Troubled debt restructurings$242$242$242$270$242$270$266
Other real estate$-$-$-$-$-$-$76
Nonperforming loans$-$-$-$-$-$-$-
Nonperforming loans to total assets (%) - - - - - - -
Nonperforming loans to total loans (%) - - - - - - -
Reserve for loan losses to total loans (%) 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.04 1.15 1.04 1.11
Reserve for loan losses to nonperforming loans (%)n/an/an/an/an/an/an/a
Net recoveries for period$19$48$19$14$48$42$7
Average loans$113,148$114,847$113,148$117,337$114,847$95,797$100,471
Ratio of net recoveries to average loans (%) 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.01
CARES Act – Temporary loan payment relief (#) - - - 2 - 2 -
CARES Act – Temporary loan payment relief ($)$-$-$-$869$-$869$-
Regulatory Capital Ratios:       
CBLR ratio (%) 7.85 7.85 10.28 10.06 10.28 10.06 9.12
*RBAZ Bancorp, Inc. was formed on June 10, 2021. YTD consolidation consists of Bank data beginning January 1, 2021 and Company data beginning June 10, 2021.
 

Contact:  Brian Ruisinger
President and Chief Executive Officer
Phone:  602.280.9404
Email:  bruisinger@republicaz.com