WILMINGTON, Ohio, April 27, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NB&T Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NBTF), parent company of The National Bank and Trust Company ("NB&T"), Wilmington, Ohio, announced net income for the first quarter of 2010 increased to $5.6 million or $1.65 per share from net income of $659,000, or $.21 per share for the first quarter of 2009. Net income for the quarter was up primarily due to the bargain purchase pre-tax gain of approximately $7.6 million in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") assisted acquisition of certain of the assets and liabilities of American National Bank ("ANB"). In addition, the Company realized a pre-tax gain of $1.4 million on the sale of its insurance agency in January 2010.
Commenting on these results, President & CEO John J. Limbert said, "We are excited to add Parma to our growing list of communities served. With the acquisition, our total assets increased to $717 million at March 31, 2010 compared to $649 million at the end of 2009 and our capital position remains solid. Finally, we have nothing but good things to say about the people we worked with at the FDIC. They have a difficult job and were extremely professional and helpful throughout the entire process."
On March 19, 2010, NB&T acquired the banking operations of American National Bank, Parma, Ohio, through a purchase and assumption agreement with the FDIC. NB&T acquired approximately $65 million in assets, including $48 million in loans and $65 million in deposits. No premium was paid on the deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits, NB&T agreed to purchase substantially all of the assets of ANB at a $10 million discount. Additionally, the FDIC is obligated to reimburse NB&T for 80% of losses of up to $8 million with respect to covered assets and will reimburse NB&T for 95% of losses that exceed $8 million according to the loss sharing agreements. Based upon the estimated fair value of the assets and liabilities assumed, including the estimated value of the loss sharing agreements, NB&T recorded pre-tax bargain purchase gain of approximately $7.6 million and $5.0 million after tax.
Also in the first quarter of 2010, NB&T sold its insurance agency subsidiary to two officers of the insurance agency. The agency was sold to allow management to focus 100% on the business of banking. NB&T recognized a pre-tax gain of approximately $1.4 million on this sale.
Net interest income was $5.6 million for the first quarter of 2010, compared to $4.4 million for the first quarter of 2009. Net interest margin increased to 3.75% for the first quarter of 2010, compared to 3.72% for the same quarter last year. The net interest margin increased primarily due to two factors. First, average loans outstanding for 2010, which had an average rate of 6.18%, increased $63.8 million, largely a result of the Community National Bank acquisition in December 2009. Second, the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities declined from 1.98% in the first quarter of 2009 to 1.48% in the first quarter of 2010 on increased average deposits of $125.9 million. Due to increased liquidity, the Company was able to lower rates on non-transaction accounts over the last year.
The provision for loan losses for the first quarter of 2010 was $435,000, compared to $250,000 in the same quarter last year. Net charge-offs were $567,000 in the first quarter of 2010, compared to $703,000 in the first quarter of 2009. Charge-offs in 2010 included one commercial real estate development loan charge-off of $300,000 for which $300,000 in specific reserves had been previously allocated. The provision for loan losses was increased to add specific loan reserves and increase the general allowance due to estimating the impact of current economic conditions based on recent delinquency trends in the commercial real estate portfolio. The commercial real estate development loan plus other real estate owned acquired in the ANB transaction of approximately $325,000, increased other real estate owned to $4.1 million at March 31, 2010 from $3.5 million at December 31, 2009. Non-performing loans decreased approximately $100,000 during the first quarter of 2010 to $6.8 million.
Total non-interest income was $10.6 million for the first quarter of 2010, compared to $1.9 million for the first quarter of 2009. The increase is due to the ANB bargain purchase gain and insurance agency sale previously discussed. Partially offsetting this gain in the first quarter of 2010 was an other-than-temporary impairment charge of $50,000 on one mortgage-backed security.
Total non-interest expense was $7.5 million for the first quarter of 2010, compared to $5.4 million for the first quarter of 2009. The increase for the quarter was due to increased bonus plan accruals of $1.5 million, personnel and operating expenses of approximately $355,000 related to the Community National Bank branches acquired in December 2009 and acquisition related expenses of approximately $103,000. Acquisition related expenses totaled $103,000 for the first quarter of 2010. There were no acquisition expenses in the first quarter of 2009.
On March 16, 2010, the Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.29 per share, payable April 26, 2010 to shareholders of record on March 31, 2010. This dividend is unchanged from the dividend declared for the first quarter of 2009.