American Riviera Bancorp Announces Results for the First Quarter of 2023

News item April 27, 2023 by Michelle Martinich

Santa Barbara, California (April 27, 2023) – American Riviera Bancorp (“Company”) (OTCQX: ARBV), holding company of American Riviera Bank (“Bank”), announced today unaudited net income of $3.0 million ($0.52 per share) for the three months ended March 31, 2023, compared to $3.2 million ($0.55 per share) earned in the same reporting period in the previous year. Adjusted for non-recurring SBA PPP loan fee income of $913 thousand in the first quarter of 2022, the Company reported a $544 thousand or 15.5% increase in pre-tax net income for the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter last year.

“American Riviera Bank reported respectable earnings, loan growth, and increased capital ratios despite the elevated interest rate environment. Our clients appreciate the Bank’s relationship business model of serving depositors and providing loans on the Central Coast of California as we have for the past 17 years. Market volatility has created opportunities for us to do business with many new clients. Our dedicated and knowledgeable team of bankers opened over 750 new deposit accounts this quarter.”    

Jeff DeVine, President and CEO

First Quarter Highlights

• The Bank recently received the highest “Super Premier” rating for financial performance from the Findley Reports and has maintained a “5 Star - Superior” rating from Bauer Financial as of December 31, 2022.
• Return on average assets for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023, was 0.98%, and return on average equity was 14.22%.
• Total loans reached $924.8 million at March 31, 2023, an increase of $17.1 million or 1.9% from the prior quarter-end, and $136.7 million or 17.4% from March 31, 2022. The Bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio at March 31, 2023, was 84.1%.
• Non-interest-bearing demand deposits totaled $460.7 million at March 31, 2023, a modest decrease of $17.9 million or 3.7% from the prior quarter-end, and a modest decrease of $21.0 million or 4.4% from March 31, 2022. Non-interest-bearing demand deposits have increased to 41.9% of total deposits, from 41.1% at the prior quarter-end, and 38.6% one year ago.
• Interest-bearing deposits totaled $639.0 million at March 31, 2023, a decrease of $46.0 million or 6.7% from the prior quarter-end, and a decrease of $125.8 million or 16.4% from March 31, 2022. The Federal Reserve’s actions over the last year to rapidly increase interest rates have caused a shift in interest-bearing depositor behavior as some clients have decided to reinvest their excess cash in non-FDIC insured, external investment products.
• During the first quarter of 2023, the Bank opened 784 new deposit accounts, compared to 562 in the last quarter, and 657 in the same quarter last year.
• All of the Bank’s deposits are local, retail deposits. At March 31, 2023, the Bank had no wholesale brokered deposits.
• The Bank maintains a diversified deposit base with no significant industry concentrations and does not engage in cryptocurrency transactions or service cryptocurrency related companies.
• Interest income in the first quarter of 2023, excluding SBA PPP loan fees, increased by $3.6 million from the same quarter last year and was partially offset by a $1.4 million increase in interest expense due to higher rates paid on deposits and an increase in borrowed funds.
• Total cost of funding sources increased to 0.59% for the first quarter of 2023, compared to 0.26% in the prior quarter, and 0.09% for the same quarter in the prior year. Overall funding costs for the Bank have increased and will likely continue to rise based on Federal Reserve policy, but remain modest compared to industry averages based on our relationship banking focus.
• On-balance sheet liquidity continues to be substantial and stable with $287.8 million of cash, due from banks, and available-for-sale (“AFS”) securities market value at March 31, 2023, compared to $285.1 million at December 31, 2022.
• Access to available sources of liquidity including unsecured fed funds lines of credit with correspondent banks, unused secured borrowing capacity with the Federal Home Loan Bank, and unused secured borrowing capacity with the Federal Reserve totaled $212.0 million at March 31, 2023.
• The Bank adopted the Current Expected Credit Losses (“CECL”) accounting standard as of January 1, 2023, and the “Day 1” impact was an increase of $0.8 million to Allowance for Credit Losses (“ACL”) and a $0.5 million increase to the reserve for unfunded commitments, which were funded by a $1.3 million pre-tax adjustment to retained earnings.
• ACL was 1.24% of total loans at March 31, 2023, compared with 1.17% at December 31, 2022, and 1.19% at March 31, 2022. Provision for credit losses for the first quarter of 2023 was zero, compared to $0.1 million last quarter, and zero for the same quarter last year.
• The Bank maintained strong credit quality with no other real estate owned, no loans 90 days or more past due, and only $3.0 million or 0.32% of total loans on non-accrual status, which are well supported by collateral and reserves.
• Tangible book value per share increased by 4.2% to $15.03 at March 31, 2023, up from $14.43 at December 31, 2022, due to a profitable first quarter of 2023 and improvements in the market value of our AFS securities portfolio
• All Bank and Company capital ratios increased in the first quarter of 2023. The Bank’s regulatory capital ratios were all above “well-capitalized” standards. The Company’s tangible common equity ratio has increased to 6.68% at March 31, 2023, from 6.43% at December 31, 2022, and 6.99% at March 31, 2022.

First Quarter Earnings

For the first quarter of 2023, unaudited net income pre-tax, pre-provision, pre-PPP fees (a non-GAAP measure) was $4.1 million, compared to $5.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, and $3.5 million in the first quarter of 2022. For the first quarter of 2023, unaudited net income was $3.0 million, compared to $4.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, and $3.2 million in the first quarter of 2022.

The Bank continues to grow interest and fees on loans sequentially over the last four quarters from $8.6 million in the first quarter of 2022 to $11.2 million in the first quarter of 2023, representing a $2.6 million or 30.2% increase. However, the cost of funding has also increased sequentially from the historically low levels that existed prior to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate increase policy. Interest expense on deposits has increased approximately five-fold from $0.2 million in the first quarter of 2022 to $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2023.

At the same time, excess cash and due from banks has moved back to a more normalized level as the Federal Reserve has tightened economic conditions, resulting in a decline in interest on cash and due from which was at elevated levels for most of 2022. Interest on cash and due from peaked at $1.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to a more normalized level of $0.3 million in the first quarter of 2023 and $0.1 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Non-Interest Income and Expense

Non-interest income was $0.5 million for the first quarter of 2023, compared to $0.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, and $1.2 million for the same quarter last year. Variances between the quarters relate primarily to SBA loan sale premiums, mortgage broker fees, and loan prepayment fees. Mortgage broker fees were extraordinary in the first quarter of 2022 prior to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate increase policy.

Non-interest expense was $8.0 million for the first quarter of 2023, compared to $8.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, and $7.0 million for the same quarter last year. The increase in non-interest expense in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter last year is primarily attributable to stable staffing with reduced turnover, occupancy expenses, and timing of advertising and annual sponsorships. Occupancy expenses are temporarily elevated as the Company is in the process of consolidating Santa Barbara office space which is expected to result in efficiencies in the second half of 2023.    

Loans and Asset Quality
Total loans, excluding PPP loans, reached $924.7 million at March 31, 2023, an increase of $17.1 million or 1.9% from the prior quarter-end, and $148.3 million or 19.1% from March 31, 2022.

The Bank adopted the CECL accounting standard as of January 1, 2023, and recorded a $1.3 million pre-tax reduction to retained earnings upon adoption, including $0.5 million of additional reserve for unfunded loans recorded in other liabilities. As a result of the adoption, the ACL increased $0.8 million to $11.5 million at March 31, 2023, with a resulting coverage ratio of 1.24% of total loans, as compared to $10.6 million or 1.17% at December 31, 2022, and $9.4 million or 1.19% at March 31, 2022.

Loan charge-offs totaled zero and loan recoveries totaled $3 thousand for the first quarter of 2023. As of March 31, 2023, non-accrual loans totaled $3.0 million, down $0.1 million compared to the previous quarter. $2.2 million of the non-accrual total at March 31, 2023, is comprised of one loan which is real estate secured at a 28% loan-to-value based upon a recent appraisal and is paying full principal and interest payments monthly. Credit quality remains strong.

Deposits & Borrowings

Total deposits were $1.1 billion at March 31, 2023, representing a decrease of $63.9 million or 5.5% from December 31, 2022, and a decrease of $146.7 million or 11.8% since March 31, 2022. As a result of the current rate environment, the reduction in deposit balances is primarily due to some clients deciding to reinvest their excess cash in non-FDIC insured, external investment products. The weighted average cost of deposits for the first quarter of 2023 was 0.45%, compared to 0.21% for the previous quarter, and 0.07% for the same quarter last year. Non-interest-bearing demand deposits have increased to 41.9% of total deposits, from 41.1% at the prior quarter-end, and 38.6% one year ago.

The Company had $70.0 million of short-term, 30 days or less, FHLB advances outstanding and $10.0 million drawn on a Company line of credit at March 31, 2023. The weighted average cost on the borrowings for the quarter was 4.89%, or $0.4 million.

The Bank’s liquidity position remained strong with a primary liquidity ratio (cash and cash equivalents, deposits held in other banks and unpledged AFS securities as a percentage of total assets) of 22% at March 31, 2023, unchanged from December 31, 2022.

As of March 31, 2023, the Bank had no brokered deposits and no borrowings outstanding from the Federal Reserve’s discount window or its new Bank Term Funding Program. Available secured borrowing capacity with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (“FHLB”) totaled $152.1 million as of March 31, 2023. Subsequent to quarter end, the Bank pledged additional loans as collateral to increase our borrowing capacity at the FHLB to $259.2 million. The Bank also had $110.0 million of unused, unsecured fed funds lines of credit with correspondent banks at March 31, 2023. Available contingent funding sources remain robust.

During the first quarter of 2023, the Bank opened 784 new deposit accounts, compared to 562 in the last quarter, and 657 in the same quarter last year. The Bank maintains a diversified, local deposit base with no significant industry concentrations and does not engage in cryptocurrency transactions or service cryptocurrency related companies.

Overall uninsured deposits are conservatively estimated to be $474.5 million, or 43.1% of total deposit balances, excluding public agency deposits that are collateralized as of March 31, 2023. The actual level of uninsured deposits is lower than the percentage stated above, as our knowledgeable bankers can help clients obtain more than $250 thousand of FDIC insurance with vesting structures such as joint accounts, payable upon death accounts, and revocable trust accounts with multiple beneficiaries. In addition, the Bank can offer up to $50 million of FDIC pass-through insurance to clients via the IntraFi network Insured Cash Sweep (“ICS”) or Certificate of Deposit Account Registry System (“CDARS”) products.

Shareholders’ Equity
Total shareholders’ equity was $91.6 million at March 31, 2023, a $4.5 million or 5.1% increase since December 31, 2022, and an increase of $1.9 million or 2.1% over the prior year. The tax adjusted unrealized loss on securities, which is a component of equity (accumulated other comprehensive income or “AOCI”), reduced slightly from $23.9 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022 to $21.1 million at the end of the first quarter of 2023, resulting in an additional $2.8 million expansion of shareholders’ equity. Industry-wide there has been modest recovery in the market value of fixed income securities in 2023 which is consistent with the decrease in treasury yields. The Bank fully expects to receive all principal when the investments mature.

Company Profile

American Riviera Bancorp (OTCQX: ARBV) is a registered bank holding company headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. American Riviera Bank, the 100% owned subsidiary of American Riviera Bancorp, is a full-service community bank focused on serving the lending and deposit needs of businesses and consumers on the Central Coast of California. The state-chartered bank opened for business on July 18, 2006, with the support of local shareholders. Full-service branches are located in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, and Paso Robles. The Bank provides commercial business, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, construction, and Small Business Administration lending services as well as convenient online and mobile technology. For thirteen consecutive years, the Bank has been recognized for strong financial performance by the Findley Reports and has received the highest “Super Premier” rating from Findley every year since 2016. The Bank was rated “Outstanding” by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2020 for its performance under the Community Reinvestment Act.

Statements concerning future performance, developments or events concerning expectations for growth and market forecasts, and any other guidance on future periods, constitute forward looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from stated expectations. Specific factors include, but are not limited to, effects of interest rate changes, ability to control costs and expenses, impact of consolidation in the banking industry, financial policies of the US government, and general economic conditions.

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