Patriot Bank hits $1 million net income milestone

Patriot Bank parent Patriot National Bancorp Inc. posted third-quarter pretax earnings of $1.7 million and quarterly net income exceeding $1 million, both milestones for the Stamford institution.

The $1 million net income compares with net income of $804,000 in the second quarter of 2017 and $814,000 for the same quarter a year ago. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, net income was $3.5 million, compared with $885,000 for the corresponding 2016 period.

Patriot Bank’s deposits continued to rise and are now up 28 percent year over year, with loan growth of 5 percent for the quarter and 27 percent from the year prior. Net interest income climbed 23 percent from the corresponding 2016 period and for 2017 is 14 percent higher than in the nine-month period ending Sept. 30, 2016.

Patriot also announced its second consecutive quarterly dividend of one cent per fully diluted share, with a dividend payment date of Nov. 10.

“This quarter’s milestone is further confirmation of the steady progress we expect to achieve from the operational disciplines put in place and management’s focus on growth and value accretion,” CEO Michael Carrazza said. â€œWhile pleased in reaching these milestones, content we are not. Internal mandates have been set to materially beat third-quarter performance and further enhance key operating metrics in the fourth quarter. The expected closing of our acquisition of Prime Bank will further add to our earnings momentum.”

Prime Bank shareholders have voted in favor of its merger with Patriot. As of June 30, Prime had approximately $73 million in total assets, $56 million in deposits and $28 million in total loans. Closing is pending receipt of regulatory approvals, which is targeted before the end of the year.

The comparative results for the first nine months of 2016 and 2017 include the impact of a troubled loan that was ultimately resolved. In the second quarter of 2016, the bank recorded a significant loan-loss provision, but worked toward a recovery that was successfully accomplished in the first quarter of this year.

In the year since Sept. 30, 2016, total assets increased by $144 million, up from $682 million. Loans totaled $710 million as of Sept. 30, 2017, up from the $679 million reported June 30, 2017, and up from the $560 million reported Sept. 30, 2016.

Deposits increased during the quarter to $605 million and were up year over year as compared with $471 million at the end of the third quarter of 2016.

Net interest income was $7.1 million in the quarter, up 12 percent from the second quarter 2017 and up 23 percent from the corresponding 2016 period. Net interest income of $18.9 million in the year-to-date period was higher than the $16.5 million in the nine-month period ending Sept. 30, 2016. Net interest margin was 3.65 percent for the quarter and 3.59 percent for the 2017 year-to-date period, as compared with 3.61 percent in the prior quarter and 3.79 percent in the first nine months of 2016.