Hampshire First Bank Reports Third Quarter Results

MANCHESTER, NH--(Marketwire - Oct 21, 2011) - Hampshire First Bank (the "Bank") (OTCBB: HFBN) today announced net income of $584,000, or $0.21 per share (basic and diluted), for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 compared to $363,000, or $.13 per share (basic and diluted), for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, net income was $1,388,000, or $0.50 per share (basic and diluted) compared to net income of $803,000 or $0.28 per share (basic and diluted) for the same period last year.

"Hampshire First Bank again reports strong earnings growth," said James Dunphy, President and Chief Executive Officer. "I am pleased to announce that net interest income and noninterest income both year over year and quarter over quarter has increased." Dunphy also noted that the Bank's asset quality has been stable over the year and capital and liquidity levels remain strong.

The Bank saw total assets climb to $272,965,000, an increase of a little more than .5% for the quarter and 24% year over year. Growth was recognized primarily in loans and deposits. Net loans after deducting the allowance for loan losses and loans held for sale as of the latest quarter-end stood at $220,069,000 while deposits totaled $224,894,000.

The Bank's book value per common share increased to $10.51 as of September 30, 2011 in comparison to $10.25 as of June 30, 2011 and $9.72 as of September 30, 2010. The year over year increase in book value per share was 8%. Annualized return on average assets (ROA) and average common equity (ROE) for the three months ended September 30, 2011 stood at .86% and 8.10%, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, ROA and ROE were .71% and 6.56%, respectively.

Hampshire First Bank's tier one leverage capital ratio of 10.6% remains more than double the 5% regulatory requirement to be considered "well capitalized."

The Bank's complete financial statements are available at www.hampshirefirst.com.

About Hampshire First Bank:
Hampshire First Bank is a New Hampshire-chartered commercial bank that serves customers throughout Southern New Hampshire. The Bank operates its main banking office at 80 Canal Street, Manchester and maintains locations at 221 Main Street in Downtown Nashua, 391 West Street in Keene, 68 Nashua Road in Londonderry, and 77 Hanover Street in Portsmouth. The bank also provides state of the art electronic banking services, such as Online Account Origination and Remote Deposit Automation. The Bank's common stock is traded on the OTC electronic bulletin board under the symbol HFBN.