CASHMERE, WA / ACCESSWIRE / October 23, 2024 / Cashmere Valley Bank (OTCQX:CSHX) ("Bank"), announced quarterly earnings of $7.2 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. Year to date earnings totaled $21.1 million as compared to $20.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Year to date diluted earnings per share were $5.42, representing an increase of $0.20 per share, or 3.9%. Third quarter earnings per share totaled $1.84, which represented a decrease of $0.01 per diluted share from the third quarter 2023.

As of September 30, 2024, deposit balances totaled $1.825 billion, an increase of $51.2 million, or 2.9%, from December 31, 2023. For the third quarter, deposit balances increased $52.5 million, or 3.0%. Non-interest deposits totaled $409.4 million, which represented 22.4% of total deposits. During the third quarter non-interest deposits grew $19.8 million, or 5.1%.

"We are extremely pleased that deposit balances are increasing again," said Greg Oakes, President and CEO. "The rate of increase in the cost of our deposits also slowed. The combination of these two is a tremendous relief. Seeing an expansion in our net interest margin in the quarter was a pleasant surprise and should bode well for us to wrap up another successful year."

Q3 Highlights

The Bank reported the following statement of condition highlights as of September 30, 2024:

• The Bank's year to date return on equity was 13.25% as compared to 15.31% one year ago. For the third quarter, return on equity was 12.82%. The decrease in return on equity was primarily related to an increasing capital base. Year to date earnings and a reduction in unrealized loss on available for sale securities have increased the Bank's capital position.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $186.9 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $117.1 million at December 31, 2023. The Bank has made a concerted effort to maintain large cash balances through security sales and paydowns without full reinvestment of principal, and through deposit growth that occurred during the third quarter.

Investments
The book value of the Bank's investment portfolio totaled $890.6 million at September 30, 2024, an increase of $32.6 million from December 31, 2023. As of September 30, 2024, $131.6 million in securities were classified as held-to-maturity as compared to $139.8 million as of December 31, 2023. Unrealized losses on securities have decreased from $67.3 million as of December 31, 2023 to $47.8 million as of September 30, 2024.

As of September 30, 2024, the Bank had not realized any losses on security sales. In 2023, the Bank realized $2.3 million in security losses through September 30, 2023.

Loans and Credit Quality
Gross loans decreased $18.3 million from the prior quarter and totaled $997.1 million as of September 30, 2024. Gross loans have decreased $45.3 million from December 31, 2023. During 2024, auto dealer loans have decreased $20.2 million, commercial real estate loans have decreased $18.1 million, and multifamily loans are down $11.4 million.

As of September 30, 2024, the allowance for credit losses on loans (ACL) was 1.32% of gross loans as compared to 1.26% one year ago. The Bank allocated $1,506,000 to the loan loss provisions through the third quarter of 2024 as compared to $1,828,000 through the third quarter of 2023. The balance in the allowance for credit losses was $13.1 million at September 30, 2024.

Credit quality remains strong. Non-performing loans represented 0.28% of gross loans as of September 30, 2024, as compared to 0.23% as of September 30, 2023.

Deposits
Total deposits increased by $52.5 million from June 30, 2024 to September 30, 2024. Year to date, the Bank's cost of funds was 1.68%.

Equity
GAAP capital reflected an increase of $54.1 million from September 30, 2023, and an increase of $30.0 million from December 31, 2023. Earnings during those time periods along with significant reductions in unrealized losses on available for sale securities bolstered the Bank's capital position. The capital to assets ratio was 11.0% as of September 30, 2024.

Earnings
Net Interest Income
For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net interest income totaled $47.2 million as compared to $49.2 million during the same period one year ago. The decrease from the prior year was due to rapidly increasing costs on deposits. Deposit rates changed substantially due to an increase in fed funds rates along with competition for deposits. Higher rates have benefited the Bank's assets. Income from loans increased $4.9 million, securities income increased $3.9 million, and cash income increased $1.0 million as compared to the prior year.

Net interest income increased $1.1 million over the prior quarter. Deposit costs continued to rise during the quarter, however, the rate of increase slowed substantially. Deposit balances also grew, which enabled the Bank to hold more cash on hand, invest in securities, and resulted in higher interest income for the quarter. Interest expense increased from the prior quarter by $330,000, or 4.2%, while interest income increased $1.4 million, or 6.1%.

The net interest margin was 3.14% for the first nine months of 2024, compared to 3.29% during the first nine months of 2023. The margin has been adversely affected by deposit costs. For the quarter ended September 30, 2024 the net interest margin showed improvement over the same quarter one year ago. The quarterly margin was 3.22% as compared to 3.07% one year ago.

Non-Interest Income
Non-interest income totaled $15.2 million in the first nine months of 2024 as compared to $12.2 million in the first nine months of 2023. The primary driver for the increase in non-interest income was a reduction in realized losses on available for sale securities. Available for sale security losses totaled $2.3 million through September 30, 2023 and no security losses were realized through September 30, 2024. Insurance commissions also increased $639,000 and wealth management commissions increased $298,000.

Non-Interest Expense
Non-interest expense totaled $35.6 million in the first nine months of 2024 as compared to $34.8 million in the first nine months of 2023. The increase in costs totaled $738,000, or 2.1%.

Increases in salary and benefits were primarily responsible for the increase in non-interest expense. As compared to the same period one year ago, wages and benefits expense increased $540,000, or 2.7%. In late 2023, the Bank applied for and recorded a $3.9 million reduction in payroll taxes due to the Employee Retention Tax Credit. To date, the Bank's application has not been reviewed or approved by the IRS.

The Bank's efficiency ratio was 57.0% in the first nine months of 2024 as compared to 56.8% in the first nine months of 2023.

About Cashmere Valley Bank
Cashmere Valley Bank was established September 24, 1932 and now has 11 retail offices in Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas and Yakima Counties and a municipal lending office in King County. The Bank provides business and personal banking, commercial lending, insurance services through its subsidiary Mitchell, Reed & Schmitten Insurance, investment services, mortgage services, equipment lease financing, auto and marine dealer financing and municipal lending. The success of Cashmere Valley Bank is the result of maintaining a high level of personal service and controlling expenses so our fees and charges offer our customers the best value available. We remain committed to those principles that we feel are best summarized as, "the little Bank with the big circle of friends."

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations regarding economic, legislative, and regulatory issues that may impact the Bank's earnings in future periods. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "will," "would," "should," "could" or "may." Factors that could cause future results to vary materially from current management expectations include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, economic uncertainty in the United States and abroad, changes in interest rates, deposit flows, real estate values, costs or effects of acquisitions, competition, changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines, legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors affecting the Bank's operations. The Bank undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.