MORENO VALLEY, Calif., May 8, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Valley Bank (OTCBB:VMOY), the only locally owned financial institution serving a fast-growing area of the Inland Empire, reported improved first quarter results.
The Moreno Valley-based bank said it earned $206,000, or 8 cents a share, in the quarter. Results included $304,000 from the sale of a bank branch and property near its headquarters.
A year ago, Valley Bank reported net income of $560,000, or 43 cents a share, but results included a one-time tax benefit of $500,000.
Per share values were affected by the sale of 1.3 million shares in June. Proceeds were used to increase the bank's capital by nearly $2.6 million and the number of outstanding shares to 2.5 million.
"We continue to benefit from strong growth in our region and steps we have taken internally to cut back expenses," said Gene Wood, Valley Bank president and chief executive. "I'm pleased with the progress the bank and its employees have made to grow the institution's core profits."
During the quarter, Valley Bank benefited from increased non-interest income and lower expenses. Non-interest income in the first three months of 2003 reached $651,000, up 19.2 percent from $546,000 a year ago. Expenses, notably salaries and premises costs, fell to $1.2 million from $1.3 million a year earlier.
Despite the downward pressure on margins caused by two interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve Board in the past 12 months, the bank reported net interest income of $844,000, down from $943,000 a year ago. Interest expenses in the quarter fell to $108,000 from $182,000 a year ago.
Problem loans in the quarter were down dramatically from a year ago. In the first quarter of 2002, Valley Bank had $7 million of past due and non-accrual loans. In the first three months of 2003, that total fell to less than $2.7 million.
Despite the sale of its Sun City branch to Provident Bank in December, assets as of March 31 were $79.4 million, up $2.5 million from the $76.9 million reported a year ago.
Valley Bank, with assets of nearly $80 million, is a 42-year-old community bank with branches in Moreno Valley, Grand Terrace, the Woodcrest area of Riverside and Perris that serve a fast-growing area of the Inland Empire near the intersection of the 215 and 60 freeways.