Evergreen Bank Group Reports Solid Asset Growth and Year-to-Date Earnings

OAK BROOK, Ill., Oct. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bancorp Financial, Inc. (the "Company"), the parent company of Evergreen Bank Group (the "Bank" or "Evergreen"), today announced year-to-date results for 2022, highlighted by solid net income of $14.0 million, or $4.54 per diluted share. Return on average assets and return on average equity for 2022 were 1.51% and 13.64% respectively. "The 2022 year-to-date results reflect strong loan growth, superior net interest margin, solid asset quality metrics, and significant investments in technology," said Jill Voss, EVP and Chief Financial Officer.

2022 Financial Highlights

• Total assets topped $1.40 billion at September 30, 2022, an increase of 16.7% in 2022. This increase is primarily from $200.8 million of loan growth from the nationwide powersports program, in addition to consumer and floating rate home equity loans to prime borrowers. This growth was funded with excess liquidity and organic retail promotions within our local markets, generating new customers and cross-selling opportunities.
  
  
• Net interest income was $44.9 million, representing a net interest margin of 4.94%. The Bank's nationwide powersports portfolio continues to drive the strong yield on earning assets. Margin compression to some extent is expected in the fourth quarter as deposit rates are anticipated to rise faster than loan rates.
  
  
• The provision for loan losses was $1.68 million for the first nine months of 2022 as compared to $.53 million for the same period of 2021. The increase is due primarily to providing for the additional loan growth. The allowance for loan losses stands at 1.50%, still significantly elevated over pre-pandemic levels.
  
  
• Non-interest income was $1.67 million for the first nine months of 2022 as compared to $2.50 million for the same period of 2021. While fee income received in 2022 is up, in 2021 the Company received non-recurring BOLI income and recorded larger gains on the sale of repossessed vehicles.
  
  
• Non-interest expense was $26.45 million in 2022, up from $22.79 million in 2021 due to additional technology and personnel investments as it relates to our balance sheet growth, digital transformation and CRM integration strategies. The Bank continued to maintain a solid efficiency ratio below 60%, at 56.83% even with these significant investments.
  
  
• The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share to common shareholders of record at the close of business on September 30, 2022, payable on October 14, 2022. This was the fourth quarter in a row that our shareholders received a dividend.
  
  
• President and Chief Executive Officer Darin Campbell stated, "We are very pleased with our financial performance through the first three quarters, and we are well positioned to continue to generate strong financial results in the fourth quarter. We remain laser focused on executing on our strategy as a tech-savvy bank with a national footprint, making savings and lending easy and simple. We made great progress accelerating our digital transformation as we are now positioned to open deposit accounts nationally on our entirely new digital platforms – offering customers the ability to open deposit accounts in just over two minutes. Our new digital solutions and other technology strategies planned over the next few quarters will rival any fintech or tech-savvy bank in the market. We remain very excited and optimistic about our future."

About Evergreen

Evergreen Bank Group (the "Bank") is an Illinois-chartered community bank wholly owned by Bancorp Financial, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"). The Bank was formed in 1999 and became a subsidiary of the Company as a result of a merger transaction during 2007. The Bank is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois.  Evergreen is a technology-driven bank, lending in all 50 states and Puerto Rico and is committed to delivering world-class experiences nationally by making borrowing and saving simple and easy. Evergreen also offers banking services through its lending divisions, FreedomRoad Financial and Performance Finance - two of the most recognizable names in the national motorcycle and powersports lending space.  https://evergreenbankgroup.com/

This document contains certain forward-looking statements as defined in applicable federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements describe future plans or strategies and may include the Company's and the Bank's expectations of future results. The Company's and the Bank's ability to predict results or the effect of future plans or strategies or qualitative or quantitative changes is inherently uncertain. Actual results may differ materially from stated expectations.

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SOURCE Evergreen Bank Group