DEFIANCE, Ohio, Jan. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBFG) (“SB Financial” or the “Company”), a diversified financial services company providing full-service community banking, mortgage banking, wealth management, private client and title insurance services today reported earnings for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2022.

Fourth quarter 2022 highlights:

• Net income of $3.5 million increased six percent compared to the prior year with diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) of $0.50
• Noninterest expense of $10.3 million declined 11.2 percent from the prior year
• Loan growth of $36.8 million from the linked quarter, or 15.9 percent annualized
• Solid asset quality with nonperforming assets at 38 basis points

Twelve months ended December 31, 2022, highlights over the prior-year include:

• Net income of $12.5 million and diluted EPS of $1.77, compared to $18.3 million, or $2.56 per share or a 30.9 percent decrease
• Loans, increased $141.4 million, or 17.2 percent from the prior year, excluding Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans,
• Deposits decreased by $26.4 million, or 2.4 percent to $1.09 billion
• Mortgage origination volume of $312.6 million and a servicing portfolio of $1.35 billion
• Net recoveries on loans for the year of $13,000
  

“In the fourth quarter of 2022 loan growth was strong with balances growing $37 million, or 4.0 percent from the third quarter of 2022,” said Mark A. Klein, Chairman, President, and CEO of SB Financial. “And when we compare our growth to the prior year, organic loan growth was up $139.4 million or 16.9 percent. We continued to realize margin expansion as the pace of rate increases of our asset sensitive balance sheet provided greater expansion of interest income than the increased cost of funding, even as deposits repriced.”

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Consolidated Revenue

Total operating revenue, consisting of net interest income and noninterest income, was up 1.0% from the linked quarter but down 6.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2021. Operating revenue was negatively impacted by the decline in mortgage banking revenue.

• Net interest income was up 4.5 percent from the linked quarter and up 20.1 percent from the year ago quarter.
• Net interest margin on a fully taxable equivalent basis (FTE) was up from both the linked and year-ago quarters by 15 and 72 basis points, respectively, primarily from the shift in mix of our balance sheet with cash and securities reallocated to the loan portfolio. Net of PPP, net interest margin was higher by 86 basis points compared to the prior year.
• Noninterest income was down 8 percent from the linked quarter and 44 percent from the year ago quarter, respectively, due to lower mortgage volume and OMSR recapture.
  

Mortgage Loan Business

Mortgage loan originations for the fourth quarter of 2022 were $51.2 million, down $75.4 million, or 59.6 percent, from the year-ago quarter; likewise, total sales of originated loans were $23.6 million, down $87.0 million, or 78.7 percent. For the full year of 2022, SB Financial had total volume of $312.6 million, of which $250.2 million (80 percent) was new purchase/construction lending, $41.0 million was external refinance (13 percent), and the remaining $21.4 million (7 percent) was internal refinance.

Net mortgage banking revenue, consisting of gains on the sale of mortgage loans and net loan servicing fees, was $1.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to $3.8 million for the year-ago quarter. The mortgage servicing valuation adjustment for the fourth quarter of 2022 was a positive $0.1 million, compared to a positive adjustment of $0.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. For all of 2022, the recapture of servicing rights was $1.3 million compared to a recapture of $3.4 million for the prior year. The aggregate servicing valuation impairment was $0.2 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. The servicing portfolio at December 31, 2022, was $1.35 billion, which was flat to the prior year.

Mr. Klein noted, “Refinance activity for 2022 declined significantly to just 20 percent compared to 49 percent in the prior year. Our continued success in this key business line will hinge not only on the overall rate environment but our ability to attract high-producers in our expansion markets as well.”

Noninterest Income and Noninterest Expense

Noninterest income declined for the fourth quarter, from the linked quarter and year over year. Gain-on-sale yields on mortgage loans were down significantly from the prior year and the total sales were down nearly $87 million. Wealth management revenue was down from both the prior year and linked quarter due to market declines. New sales in the wealth division were insufficient to overcome closed accounts and client distributions during 2022.

For the fourth quarter of 2022, noninterest expense of $10.3 million was down $1.3 million or 11.2 percent compared to the prior year quarter. We continue to have positive variance from our commission-based originators and medical costs eased a bit in the quarter. We continue to make headcount reductions and staffing realignment as retail transactions declined in several markets due to the continuing level of adoption of digital banking initiatives.

Mr. Klein stated, “We are committed to reducing our operating expenses to reflect not only the reduced revenue in residential mortgage lending but also, as economic expansion and contraction, dictates. Inflation concerns remain top of mind as we work to ensure our growth strategies deliver positive operating leverage.”

Balance Sheet

Total assets as of December 31, 2022, were $1.3 billion, or up 0.4 percent from the year ago quarter primarily due to the increase in the loan portfolio and partially offset by declines in cash and investments. Total shareholders’ equity as of December 31, 2022, was $118.4 million, down 18.3 percent from a year ago due to the valuation adjustment on the Company’s bond portfolio, which has regressed by $30.3 million. Excluding the impact of the valuation adjustment, equity increased $7.5 million or 5.2 percent. SB Financial bought back 317,000 shares of our stock during 2022 at an average price of $18.43 or 124.5 percent of tangible book value per share.  

The investment portfolio of $238.8 million, represented 17.9 percent of assets at December 31, 2022, and was down $24.5 million or 9.3 percent from the year-ago period.

Total loans held for investment were $962.1 million at December 31, 2022, up $139.4 million, or 16.9 percent, from December 31, 2021.

Deposit balances of $1.09 billion at December 31, 2022, decreased by $30 million, or 2.4 percent, since December 31, 2021. Deposits have stabilized since mid-year as we have been aggressively pursuing deposit clients throughout our footprint; albeit at a higher marginal cost.  

Mr. Klein continued, “Clearly, another quarter of strong loan growth was achieved even as rates continued to climb higher; loan yields are up by 78 basis points adjusted for PPP. Pressure to fund that growth increased with deposit balances rising at a slower pace; our average cost of deposits increased 30 basis points from the prior year quarter. Asset quality was stellar again this year, as we recorded net recoveries for all of 2022; our second consecutive year of this achievement.”

Asset Quality

SB Financial reported nonperforming assets of $5.1 million as of December 31, 2022, down $1.4 million or 21.1 percent from the year-ago quarter. The Company had small charge-offs in the quarter, but for the full year, the Company had $13,000 in net recoveries. The coverage ratio of problem loans to the loan loss allowance was at 318.6 percent at December 31, 2022.

Webcast and Conference Call

The Company will hold the fourth quarter 2022 earnings conference call and webcast on January 27, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Interested parties may access the conference call by dialing 1-888-338-9469. The webcast can be accessed at ir.yourstatebank.com. An audio replay of the call will be available on the Company’s website.

About SB Financial Group

Headquartered in Defiance, Ohio, SB Financial is a diversified financial services holding company for the State Bank & Trust Company (State Bank) and SBFG Title, LLC dba Peak Title (Peak Title). State Bank provides a full range of financial services for consumers and small businesses, including wealth management, private client services, mortgage banking and commercial and agricultural lending, operating through a total of 23 offices; 22 in nine Ohio counties and one in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and 24 full-service ATMs. State Bank has six loan production offices located throughout the Tri-State region of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Peak Title provides title insurance and title opinions throughout the Tri-State region. SB Financial’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market with the ticker symbol “SBFG”.

In April 2022, SB Financial was named to the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. “Bank Honor Roll” of superior performers that consistently reported increases in earnings per share over the last decade. The honor roll review determined that just 17 banks in the U.S., including SB Financial, or five percent of all banks screened, qualified for inclusion.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements within this document, which are not statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the duration and scope of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and the market areas in which SB Financial and its subsidiaries operate, including the impact to the state and local economies of prolonged shelter in place orders and the pandemic generally, risks and uncertainties inherent in the national and regional banking industry, changes in economic conditions in the market areas in which SB Financial and its subsidiaries operate, changes in policies by regulatory agencies, changes in accounting standards and policies, changes in tax laws, fluctuations in interest rates, demand for loans in the market areas in SB Financial and its subsidiaries operate, increases in FDIC insurance premiums, changes in the competitive environment, losses of significant customers, geopolitical events, the loss of key personnel and other risks identified in SB Financial’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and documents subsequently filed by SB Financial with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and SB Financial undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made, except as required by law. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to SB Financial or any person acting on its behalf are qualified by these cautionary statements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Non-GAAP financial measures, specifically pre-tax, pre-provision income, tangible common equity, tangible assets, tangible book value per common share, tangible common equity to tangible assets, return on average tangible common equity, total interest income – FTE, net interest income – FTE and net interest margin – FTE are used by the Company’s management to measure the strength of its capital and analyze profitability, including its ability to generate earnings on tangible capital invested by its shareholders. In addition, the Company excludes the non-GAAP items of OMSR impairment and merger related costs from net income to report an adjusted net income level. Although management believes these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors by providing a greater understanding of its business, they should not be considered a substitute for financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.