Solera National Bancorp Announces Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results

ACCESSWIRE· Solera National Bancorp, Inc.
In this article:

Total deposits are now over $1 Billion, up 21% from 12/31/2022.

Year-to-date net income of 13.1 million is on pace to equal 2022.

LAKEWOOD, CO / ACCESSWIRE / October 19, 2023 / Solera National Bancorp, Inc. (OTC PINK:SLRK) ("Company"), the holding company for Solera National Bank ("Bank"), a business-focused bank located in the Denver metropolitan area, today reported financial results for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2023. For the third quarter of 2023, net income was $4.9 million ($1.11 per share) and $13.1 million year to date.

3Q23 Financial Highlights

(Comparison to 3Q22 unless otherwise noted)

  • The Company had a pre-tax, pre-provision income of $5.9 million in the third quarter of 2023 compared to $5.2 million from Q2 2023.

  • Net interest income of $8.5 million for the third quarter of 2023 represents a 15% increase over the $7.4 million.

  • Our cost of funds has increased 188 BPS from Q3 2022.

  • Return on equity was 29.40%.

  • Total criticized loans have decreased by 40 bps. Non-performing loans 0.87%.

  • Efficiency ratio stayed low at 39.25%.

  • Total non-interest expense decreased by $849 thousand or 18%.

Michael Quagliano, Executive Chairman of the Board, commented: "Wow, in this high-rate environment, we made $1.11 EPS and over 10% return in one quarter for the shareholders. I/we continue to work relentlessly for the shareholders. If you have a new metric to judge us on, let me know what it is, and we will achieve that, too!"

Steve Snailum, COO, commented: "Solera continues to demonstrate strength and resilience in the face of challenges. The foresight and strategic thinking of bank leadership has enabled the bank to thrive in both rates up and rates down economic cycles, and furthermore, the ability of the team to execute the strategy remains a pillar of success for Solera. As Thomas Edison said, "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration." Solera is never afraid of hard work, and we are committed to providing exceptional service and results to our clients and shareholders ."

Kreighton Reed, EVP, commented: "Non-interest bearing deposits have been and will remain a main priority for Solera. We will be expanding our product set to expand our non-interest bearing growth. Our non-interest bearing deposits have shown strong resilience to this high rate environment."

Tim Pester, the Controller, commented: " We are excited to report another outstanding quarter, as our bank's strong earnings performance in this elevated rate environment reflects our unwavering commitment to financial excellence and our ability to navigate dynamic economic landscapes with precision and resilience."

Jay Hansen, CFO, commented: "We slowed down our growth mainly because of a core system conversion and to let our capital numbers catch up, and we have significantly reduced our FHLB borrowings & moved to more core deposits. Higher for longer appears to be the Fed position, but we are ready for markets to go up or down. I am very proud of our team and the extra hours they have put in during our exhausting conversion. Our key ratios are some of the best for less than $2 Billion banks, especially in Colorado."

About Solera National Bancorp, Inc.

Solera National Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 to organize and serve as the holding company for Solera National Bank, which opened for business in September 2007. Solera National Bank is a community bank serving the needs of emerging businesses and real estate investors. At the core of Solera National Bank is welcoming, attentive, and respectful customer service, a focus on supporting a growing and diverse economy, and a passion to serve our community through service, education, and volunteerism. For more information, please visit http://www.SoleraBank.com.

This press release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts and that relate to future plans or projected results of Solera National Bancorp, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Solera National Bank, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, or implied. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. Readers of this release are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Contacts: Jay Hansen, CFO (303) 209-8600

FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW

SOLERA NATIONAL BANCORP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
(unaudited)

($000s)

9/30/2023

6/30/2023

3/31/2023

12/31/2022

9/30/2022

ASSETS

Cash and due from banks

$

2,156

$

1,657

$

1,957

$

3,490

$

2,683

Federal funds sold

-

-

5,300

-

-

Interest-bearing deposits with banks

1,651

1,528

2,214

1,499

2,379

Investment securities, available-for-sale

169,673

173,552

170,033

164,176

154,044

Investment securities, held-to-maturity

199,875

204,900

205,425

207,048

205,475

FHLB and Federal Reserve Bank stocks, at cost

7,516

9,043

7,103

3,954

3,843

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, gross

86

111

111

578

589

Net deferred (fees)/expenses, PPP loans

-

-

-

(6

)

(7

)

Net PPP loans

86

111

111

572

582

Traditional loans, gross

746,198

745,666

717,943

578,584

539,568

Allowance for loan and lease losses

(9,405

)

(9,404

)

(8,847

)

(8,005

)

(8,004

)

Net traditional loans

736,793

736,262

709,096

570,188

531,147

Premises and equipment, net

28,918

27,625

26,816

25,266

25,040

Accrued interest receivable

7,232

6,557

7,044

5,825

5,833

Bank-owned life insurance

4,972

4,944

4,917

4,891

4,864

Other assets

12,611

8,952

10,291

8,408

11,003

TOTAL ASSETS

$

1,171,483

$

1,175,131

$

1,150,307

$

995,317

$

946,893

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Noninterest-bearing demand deposits

$

509,382

$

539,522

$

536,880

$

551,990

$

543,260

Interest-bearing demand deposits

46,153

42,825

56,715

40,853

33,236

Savings and money market deposits

272,948

219,834

210,476

202,542

170,148

Time deposits

232,728

130,716

147,174

84,398

108,520

Total deposits

1,061,211

932,897

951,245

879,783

855,164


Accrued interest payable

1,042

150

70

438

238

Short-term borrowings

7,100

137,193

98,432

52,175

37,223

Long-term FHLB borrowings

34,000

34,000

34,000

4,000

4,000

Accounts payable and other liabilities

2,860

2,786

2,489

1,192

628

TOTAL LIABILITIES

1,106,213

1,107,026

1,086,236

937,588

897,253

Common stock

43

43

43

43

43

Additional paid-in capital

38,748

38,748

38,748

38,748

38,748

Retained earnings

50,877

46,240

42,562

37,978

32,994

Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) gain

(24,398

)

(16,926

)

(17,282

)

(19,040

)

(22,145

)

TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

65,270

68,105

64,071

57,729

49,640

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

$

1,171,483

$

1,175,131

$

1,150,307

$

995,317

$

946,893

SOLERA NATIONAL BANCORP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited)

Three Months Ended

($000s, except per share data)

9/30/2023

6/30/2023

3/31/2023

12/31/2022

9/30/2022

Interest and dividend income

Interest and fees on traditional loans

$

11,638

$

10,684

$

9,691

$

7,678

$

6,140

Interest and fees on PPP loans

-

-

11

2

277

Investment securities

3,826

3,679

3,549

3,500

3,130

Dividends on bank stocks

163

163

120

64

68

Other

59

23

17

18

18

Total interest income

$

15,686

$

14,549

$

13,388

$

11,262

9,633

Interest expense

Deposits

5,680

4,307

3,947

2,322

1,062

FHLB & Fed borrowings

1,497

1,819

1,281

480

327

Total interest expense

7,177

6,126

5,228

2,802

1,389

Net interest income

8,509

8,423

8,160

8,460

8,244

Provision for loan and lease losses

9

559

759

5

859

Net interest income after
provision for loan and lease losses

8,500

7,864

7,401

8,455

7,385

Noninterest income

Customer service and other fees

372

417

405

303

257

Other income

822

972

747

726

551

Gain on sale of loan

-

-

-

-

-

Gain on sale of securities

-

-

242

96

478

Total noninterest income

1,194

1,389

1,394

1,125

1,286

Noninterest expense

Employee compensation and benefits

1,957

2,101

2,015

1,949

1,690

Occupancy

341

336

292

310

198

Professional fees

148

96

112

110

65

Other general and administrative

1,362

2,124

1,104

1,406

974

Total noninterest expense

3,808

4,657

3,523

3,775

2,927

Net Income Before Taxes

$

5,886

$

4,596

$

5,273

$

5,805

$

5,744

Income Tax Expense

985

968

689

821

843

Net Income

$

4,901

$

3,628

$

4,584

$

4,984

$

4,901

Income Per Share

$

1.11

$

0.84

$

1.03

$

1.16

$

1.14

Tangible Book Value Per Share

$

14.72

$

15.84

$

14.45

$

13.43

$

11.54

WA Shares outstanding

4,433,286

4,299,953

4,433,286

4,299,953

4,299,953

Pre-Tax Pre-Provision Income

$

5,895

$

5,155

$

6,032

$

5,810

$

6,603

Net Interest Margin

3.29

%

3.37

%

3.36

%

3.97

%

4.18

%

Cost of Funds

2.54

%

2.24

%

1.98

%

1.21

%

0.66

%

Efficiency Ratio

39.25

%

47.46

%

37.83

%

39.78

%

32.34

%

Return on Average Assets

1.67

%

1.25

%

1.71

%

2.05

%

2.22

%

Return on Average Equity

29.40

%

21.96

%

30.11

%

37.14

%

38.43

%

Leverage Ratio

7.6

%

7.3

%

7.2

%

7.9

%

8.1

%

Asset Quality:

Non-performing loans to gross loans

0.87

%

1.07

%

0.74

%

0.93

%

1.01

%

Non-performing assets to total assets

0.55

%

0.68

%

0.46

%

0.54

%

0.57

%

Allowance for loan losses to gross traditional loans

1.24

%

1.24

%

1.23

%

1.38

%

1.48

%

* Not meaningful due to the insignificant amount of non-performing loans.

Criticized loans/assets:

Special mention

$

26,006

$

29,164

$

23,951

$

23,566

$

19,385

Substandard: Accruing

1,695

1,720

2,195

1,739

1,911

Substandard: Nonaccrual

6,508

8,005

5,300

5,364

5,431

Doubtful

-

-

-

-

-

Total criticized loans

$

34,209

$

38,889

$

31,446

$

30,669

$

26,727

Other real estate owned

-

-

-

-

-

Investment securities

-

-

-

-

-

Total criticized assets

$

34,209

$

38,889

$

31,446

$

30,669

$

26,727

Criticized assets to total assets

2.91

%

3.31

%

2.73

%

3.08

%

2.82

%

SOURCE: Solera National Bank



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