Yet another small bank is doing well while the big banks teeter
 
Last year was a good one for Ithaca-based Tompkins Financial Corp. and the company is poised to remain on course for 2009.
Says its President and CEO Steve Romaine, “While others were scrambling to keep doors open, Tompkins”™ three community banks not only kept their heads above water, but remained financially successful.”
Mahopac National Bank is Tompkins”™ community bank in the Hudson Valley.
“In 2008, Mahopac National grew $15 million in new assets in investment services, a year when the stock market fell precipitously,” Gerald Klein, Mahopac”™s president and CEO, told bank employees and shareholders at a meeting at Sinapi”™s Ceola Manor May 21. Executives from Ithaca were also on hand to present shareholders with the company”™s 2008 financial report and to answer questions.
“We had strong loan demands in both residential and commercial mortgages,” said Klein. While noting the bank”™s commercial customers reported business was slow, Klein said “they are making it through this economic crisis, and we continue to be there to provide them with the tools they need to succeed.”
Tompkins Financial reported a net income of $29.8 million in 2008. Romaine told the audience, “Tompkins has already exceeded its first quarter earnings of 2008 by 2.6 percent in the first quarter of 2009.” He said 2008 “was a year in which our industry faced some unprecedented challenges, and while we have not been immune to the economy, our performance last year validates our consistent focus on maintaining a strategy that involves building diversified sources of revenue and managing sustainable growth.”
While Congress decides how to recoup money lent to banks through its Troubled Assets Relief Program, Tompkins doesn”™t have to contend with the issue: “We never borrowed TARP money; we didn”™t even apply for it,” said Romaine.Â
Romaine and James Byrnes, chairman of the board of directors, said Tompkins and its three community banks ”“ Mahopac National Bank, The Bank of Castile and Tompkins Trust Company ”“ are “well-capitalized and not in any need of help from the federal government.”
Tompkins”™ total assets were $2.9 billion as of December 31, an increase of $508.3 million from Dec. 31 2007; loans were $1.8 billion, representing a 26.2 percent increase over the 2007 calendar year.
Growth comparisons to prior years were impacted by Tompkins”™ acquisition of Sleepy Hollow Bancorp in May 2008. Total deposits at Sleepy Hollow”™s five branches was $229 million at the time Tompkins acquired it, giving the company an even more secure footing in Westchester, “which is very attractive market,” said Romaine.
“The transition from Sleepy Hollow Bank to Mahopac was extremely smooth, thanks in large part to spirit of cooperation throughout,” said Klein.
The firm also plans to expand into White Plains, offering services to Mahopac customers via a new investment center within the next year.
Byrnes said Tompkins”™ success is “partly due to our strategy: We continue to remain as three separate community banks serving the areas we are located in; another integral contributor to our success is the commitment of our people.”
Romaine agreed, saying, “You”™ve got to know how exciting it is to share good news. In a year filled with bad news ”“ foreclosures, bailouts, and on an emotional level the loss of trust the American people have in the economy ”“Tompkins has managed to raise an additional $18 million in capital and increased our core earnings consistently for 35 years, a legacy of longevity that no financial institution in this country has been able to achieve.”
“It”™s time to have some good news in this economy,” said Frank Fetsko, the company”™s chief financial officer. “While independent banks lost $32 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008 and credit quality continues to deteriorate, we have continued the bank”™s plan for long-term growth; it was record year for our shareholders. Dividends continue to increase.”Â
The Sleepy Hollow Bank acquisition was one Romaine said was “seamless, well-accepted and has helped enhance Mahopac National Bank”™s presence in the Hudson Valley presence.” Is Tompkins looking for others? “That depends,” said Romaine, answering a shareholder”™s question. “Anyone can make an acquisition; the key is making a good one, not a bad one. When it comes to our shareholders”™ and depositors”™ money, we are very cautious and will continue to remain so.”Â