Cahill said most new loans were in C&I and owner-occupied real estate, which comprised 62% of 2025 originations, while investor real estate made up 22%. The largest payoffs during the quarter were largely investor real estate loans, including construction loans refinanced with long-term financing elsewhere. Cahill said the $135 million in fourth-quarter payoffs represented 47% of all payoffs for the year and was the largest quarterly payoff amount the bank has experienced, with six of its 10 largest payoffs ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The net interest margin (NIM) for Q4 2025 was 3.74%, an increase of 20 basis points from Q4 2024, while the full-year NIM was 3.69% compared to 3.57% in 2024 [4] - Return on average assets for Q4 2025 was 1.21%, up from 1.10% in Q4 2024, and return on tangible common equity improved to 12.58% from 11.82% [4] - Net income for Q4 2025 was $12.3 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, with total loans declining by $81 million from the end of Q3 2025 [11] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Small business loan performance was disappointing, with delinquency and charge-off levels exceeding acceptable limits, prompting changes in credit parameters [5] - Non-interest income increased by almost $2 million year-over-year, with gains from SBA loan sales higher in 2025, although residential mortgage sales remained muted [5][6] - The non-interest expense to average asset ratio improved to 1.97% for 2025 from 2.01% in 2024, reflecting effective expense management [6] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Deposit balances decreased by $21 million in Q4 2025, primarily due to a $27.1 million decline in broker deposits, but new customer acquisition was strong [11] - The bank's focus on relationship-based customers helped grow interest-bearing demand deposits by $47 million, or 33% annualized, compared to September 30 [19] - The lending pipeline at year-end stood at $284 million, with C&I loans making up 61% of the pipeline [27] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company aims to close the gap with peers in cost of funds, increase non-interest income generation, and reduce non-interest expense to average asset ratio [10] - The strategy includes optimizing the deposit portfolio by lowering costs while deepening high-quality relationships [22] - The company is evolving into a middle-market commercial bank, focusing on profitability rather than growth for its own sake [22] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed optimism for 2026, expecting to achieve a $200 million net loan growth goal, driven by growth in asset-based lending and community banking [9] - The company anticipates stabilization of credit costs in the small business portfolio due to implemented changes [7] - Management noted that while there were challenges, overall credit quality in core CRE and community banking divisions remained strong [7] Other Important Information - The efficiency ratio improved to 49.46%, remaining below 60% for the 26th consecutive quarter, and tangible book value per share grew more than 12% annualized to $15.81 [17] - The company announced a 50% increase in its quarterly cash dividend, reflecting strong capital ratios [17] - A new share repurchase plan was approved for up to 1.2 million shares, totaling $20 million, although no buybacks were executed in Q4 [48] Q&A Session Summary Question: Discussion on loan growth outlook - Management acknowledged the unpredictability of payoffs but noted that high payoff activity was not indicative of broader macro conditions, expecting a return to strong growth [34][35] Question: Details on downgraded C&I credit - The downgraded loan was from a multi-location consumer-based business facing performance declines, with management closely monitoring the situation [41] Question: Thoughts on expense run rate - Management indicated a focus on keeping expense growth limited while driving revenue growth to improve efficiency ratios [42][45] Question: Status of share buyback plan - A new share buyback plan was approved, but no activity occurred in Q4 due to timing issues with regulatory approvals [46][48]

This presentation contains "forward-looking statements" concerning the Corporation's future economic, operational and financial performance. The words or phrases "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "would," "will," "plans," "forecast," "believe" and similar expressions are meant to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor cre ...

Nifty Bank index began today’s session with a gap-down at 58,366 versus Friday’s close of 58,473. But it has now recovered to 58,750, up 0.5 per cent so far today.The advance-decline ratio stands at 9-5, showing a bullish bias. Axis Bank (up 5.2 per cent) is the biggest gainer followed by The Federal Bank (up 1.6 per cent).On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 3.4 per cent) is the top loser followed by IDFC First Bank (down 0.6 per cent).Nifty PSU Bank has gained nearly 0.9 per cent so far today and ...

分组1 - First Bank reported quarterly earnings of $0.49 per share, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate, and an increase from $0.42 per share a year ago [1] - The company posted revenues of $38.46 million for the quarter, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.55%, and up from $33.77 million year-over-year [2] - First Bank shares have increased approximately 2.7% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 1% [3] 分组2 - The earnings outlook for First Bank is crucial for investors, as it includes current consensus earnings expectations for upcoming quarters [4] - The estimate revisions trend for First Bank was mixed prior to the earnings release, resulting in a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold) for the stock, indicating expected performance in line with the market [6] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the next quarter is $0.47 on revenues of $38.06 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is $2.01 on revenues of $157.11 million [7] 分组3 - The Zacks Industry Rank for Banks - Northeast is in the top 27% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting that the industry outlook can significantly impact stock performance [8] - Financial Institutions (FISI), another company in the same industry, is expected to report quarterly earnings of $0.95 per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 75.9% [9] - FISI's anticipated revenues are $62.99 million, representing a 24.4% increase from the previous year [10]

Strong net interest margin and operating efficiency support tangible book value expansion Dividend increase declared HAMILTON, N.J., Jan. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Bank (Nasdaq Global Market: FRBA) ("the Bank") today announced results for the fourth quarter of 2025. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $12.3 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, compared to $10.5 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2024. Return on average assets, return on average equity and retu ...

Core Viewpoint - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced liquidity measures including open market operations (OMOs), dollar-rupee buy-sell swaps, and long-term variable rate repo (VRR) operations to infuse liquidity into the banking system [3][6]. Group 1: Liquidity Measures - The RBI will purchase Government of India securities worth Rs 1 trillion in two tranches of Rs 50,000 crore each on February 5 and February 12 [3]. - A dollar-rupee buy-sell swap of $10 billion for three years will be conducted on February 4 [5][12]. - A 90-day VRR auction for Rs 25,000 crore will be held on January 30 [4][12]. Group 2: Current Liquidity Conditions - Surplus liquidity in the system fell to about Rs 10,000 crore as of Thursday [7]. - Economists predict that the RBI may conduct additional OMOs of Rs 1 trillion by March-end to maintain liquidity around 0.9% of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) [8][9]. - The RBI aims to ensure orderly liquidity conditions and will continue to monitor evolving market conditions [6]. Group 3: Impact on Forward Book and Market - Buy-sell swaps are primarily used to lengthen the maturity profile of the RBI's forward book rather than to add fresh liquidity [9][10]. - The net short-dollar positions in contracts of less than a year decreased to $37.9 billion at the end of November, while short positions in contracts of more than a year increased to $28 billion [10]. - OMO auctions are expected to soften the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond by 2-3 basis points [11][13].

The stock of Bank of Maharashtra, the 10th largest PSU bank by loan book, hit a fresh 52-week high of ₹67.8 on January 14. However, it is trading at a 11-per cent discount to highs recorded in June 2024 and at a 32-per cent discount to all-time-high price recorded in January 2008.The bank has been consistently reporting healthy growth in balance sheet and earnings quarter after quarter. Apart from good asset-quality metrics, the bank sports class-leading CASA ratio and cost-to-income ratio.Its stock trades ...

System liquidity stood at a daily average surplus of ₹57,120 crore in January so far and at ₹72,549 crore in December. As a percentage of NDTL (net demand and time liabilities), liquidity is at 0.2% in January and was at 0.3% in December. The RBI will conduct an Further, the RBI will also conduct a three-year dollar-rupee buy-sell swap of $10 billion on February 4 and a 90-day variable rate repo operation of ₹25,000 crore on January 30. The $10-billion swap would infuse nearly ₹92,000 crore into the bankin ...

ForewordOn the basis of his thorough review of the Bank of England’s (Bank’s) macroeconomic forecasts and their role in policy preparation and communication (Bernanke (2024)), former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke offered several recommendations to improve the forecasting process underlying the decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). One such recommendation included the suggestion that ‘the staff should be charged with highlighting significant forecast errors and their sources, particularly er ...