Chino Commercial Bancorp Reports 19% Increase in Net Earnings

CHINO, Calif., Jan. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Chino Commercial Bancorp (OTC: CCBC), the parent company of Chino Commercial Bank, N.A., announced the results of operations for the Bank and the consolidated holding company for the fourth quarter, and year ended December 31, 2021. Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2021, were $707 thousand, or an increase of 1.2%, as compared with earnings of $699 thousand for the same quarter last year. Net earnings per basic and diluted share was $0.26 for the fourth quarter of 2021, and for the same quarter last year.

Net earnings for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 increased by 19.3% or by $506 thousand to $3.1 million, as compared to $2.6 million for fiscal year 2020. Net earnings per basic and diluted share was $1.17 for the fiscal year 2021, and $0.98 for fiscal year 2020.

Dann H. Bowman, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are very pleased with the performance of the Bank during 2021, which ended the year with record levels of Deposits, Revenue, Earnings and Earnings per Share. As we begin to emerge from the Pandemic, we are optimistic about the business opportunities available to the Bank; and we are looking forward to 2022.”

Financial Condition

At December 31, 2021, total assets were $378.5 million, an increase of $63.7 million or 20.02% over $314.8 million at December 31, 2020. Total deposits increased by $61.2 million or 23.7% to $318.9 million as of December 31, 2021, compared to $257.7 million as of December 31, 2020. At December 31, 2021, the Company’s core deposits represent 97.9% of the total deposits.

Gross loans decreased by 10.0 % or $19.5 million as of December 31, 2021 to $176.2 million, as compared with $195.7 million as of December 31, 2020, primarily due to pay downs on loans made under the Payroll Protection Program. The Bank had one non-performing loan for the quarters ended December 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020. OREO properties remained at zero as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 respectively.

Earnings

The Company posted net interest income of $2.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and $2.9 million for the same quarter last year. Average interest-earning assets were $348.6 million with average interest-bearing liabilities of $145.9 million, yielding a net interest margin of 2.63% for the fourth quarter of 2021, as compared to the average interest-earning assets of $292.2 million with average interest-bearing liabilities of $136.3 million, yielding a net interest margin of 3.66% for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Non-interest income totaled $606.2 thousand for the fourth quarter of 2021, or an increase of 15.9% as compared with $440.2 thousand earned during the same quarter last year. The majority of the increase is attribute to service charges on deposit accounts and other fees.

General and administrative expenses were $1.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2021, and $1.8 million for the same period last year. The largest component of general and administrative expenses was salary and benefits expense of $1.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2021 and $1.1 million for the same period last year.

Income tax expense was $259.1 thousand which represents a decrease of $16 thousand or 5.9% for the three months ended December 31, 2021, as compared to $275.3 thousand for the three months ended September 30, 2020. The effective income tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2021 and 2020 were approximately 26.8% and 28.3% respectively.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on management’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. Readers are cautioned not to unduly rely on forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ from those projected. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the health of the national and California economies, the Company’s ability to attract and retain skilled employees, customers’ service expectations, the Company’s ability to successfully deploy new technology and gain efficiencies therefrom, and changes in interest rates, loan portfolio performance, and other factors.

CHINO COMMERCIAL BANCORP
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
December 31, 2021 and 2020
	December 31, 2021				December 31, 2020
	(unaudited)				(audited)
ASSETS:
Cash and due from banks	$	135,593,445			$	58,075,217
Federal funds sold		-				-
Total cash and cash equivalents		135,593,445				58,075,217
Interest-bearing deposits in other banks		-				-
Investment securities available for sale		40,270,538				32,370,042
Investment securities held to maturity (fair value approximates
$12,834,547 at December 31, 2021 and $19,556,250 at December 31, 2020)		12,435,291				18,626,525
Total investments		52,705,829				50,996,567
Loans
Construction		414,072				1,014,462
Real estate		119,542,970				119,302,116
Commercial		56,078,174				75,237,752
Installment		148,731				110,475
Credit Cards		0				-
Gross loans		176,183,947				195,664,805
Unearned fees and discounts		(1,419,084	)			(1,678,642	)
Loans net of unearned fees and discount		174,764,863				193,986,163
Allowance for loan losses		(3,888,480	)			(3,271,921	)
Net loans		170,876,383				190,714,242
Fixed assets, net		5,897,342				6,145,711
Accrued interest receivable		877,104				1,013,732
Stock investments, restricted, at cost		2,045,200				1,554,200
Bank-owned life insurance		7,871,339				4,721,232
Other assets		2,647,811				1,618,717
Total assets	$	378,514,453			$	314,839,618
LIABILITIES:
Deposits
Non-interest bearing	$	195,274,304			$	145,433,815
Interest bearing
NOW and money market		85,144,889				76,774,242
Savings		25,147,966				21,467,034
Time deposits less than $250,000		9,616,481				4,473,409
Time deposits of $250,000 or greater		3,695,546				9,563,300
Total deposits		318,879,186				257,711,800
Accrued interest payable		130,327				137,487
Borrowings from Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB)		15,000,000				25,000,000
Accrued expenses & other payables		1,817,704				1,674,150
Subordinated debt		10,000,000				-
Subordinated notes payable to subsidiary trust		3,093,000				3,093,000
Total liabilities		348,920,217				287,616,437
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common stock, authorized 10,000,000 shares with no par value, issued and outstanding 2,676,799 shares at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.
		10,502,558				10,502,557
Retained earnings		19,556,872				16,428,258
Accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss)		(465,194	)			292,366
Total shareholders' equity		29,594,236				27,223,181
Total liabilities & shareholders' equity	$	378,514,453			$	314,839,618

CHINO COMMERCIAL BANCORP
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF NET INCOME
	For the three months ended						For the 12 months ended
	December 31						December 31
		2021			2020			2021			2020
	(unaudited)			(unaudited)			(unaudited)			(unaudited)
Interest income
Interest and fee income on loans	$	2,271,284		$	2,624,645		$	9,914,710		$	9,207,406
Interest on federal funds sold and FRB deposits		47,599			14,194			130,615			154,934
Interest on time deposits in banks		-			-			-			1,856
Interest on investment securities		242,681			225,264			880,324			912,489
Total interest income		2,561,564			2,864,103			10,925,649			10,276,685
Interest Expense
Interest on deposits		42,090			53,723			187,460			369,628
Other borrowings		207,193			124,947			693,963			511,815
Total interest expense		249,283			178,670			881,423			881,443
Net interest income		2,312,281			2,685,433			10,044,226			9,395,242
Provision for loan losses		-			400,000			555,000			770,000
Net interest income after provision for loan losses		2,312,281			2,285,433			9,489,226			8,625,242
Non-interest income
Service charges on deposit accounts		412,268			342,342			1,545,628			1,293,966
Other miscellaneous income		119,487			47,642			343,247			163,514
Dividend income from restricted stock		28,693			18,421			101,622			71,664
Income from bank-owned life insurance		45,711			31,840			150,107			125,648
Total non-interest income		606,159			440,245			2,140,604			1,654,792
Non-interest expenses
Salaries and employee benefits		1,234,412			1,064,780			4,408,276			4,058,653
Occupancy and equipment		157,939			160,415			619,851			623,102
Data and item processing		173,749			147,958			664,422			589,351
Advertising and marketing		26,664			33,869			126,457			144,167
Legal and professional fees		900			76,075			138,895			209,565
Regulatory assessments		41,768			33,480			149,569			116,167
Insurance		10,106			10,567			40,141			38,380
Directors' fees and expenses		32,520			32,040			129,600			130,054
Other expenses		274,294			192,528			1,018,815			692,060
Total non-interest expenses		1,952,352			1,751,712			7,296,026			6,601,499
Income before income tax expense		966,088			973,966			4,333,804			3,678,535
Income tax expense		259,105			275,285			1,202,816			1,053,805
Net income	$	706,983		$	698,681		$	3,130,988		$	2,624,730
Basic earnings per share	$	0.26		$	0.26		$	1.17		$	0.98
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.26		$	0.26		$	1.17		$	0.98

		For the three months ended								For the twelve months ended
		December 31								December 31
			2021				2020				2021				2020
KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS
(unaudited)
Annualized return on average equity			10.68%				11.37%				11.70%				10.69%
Annualized return on average assets			0.75%				0.89%				0.89%				0.92%
Net interest margin			2.63%				3.66%				3.06%				3.81%
Core efficiency ratio			66.90%				56.04%				59.88%				59.74%
Net chargeoffs/(recoveries) to average loans			-0.008%				0.008%				-0.03%				-0.07%
AVERAGE BALANCES
(thousands, unaudited)
Average assets		$	374,871			$	313,827			$	353,393			$	284,525
Average interest-earning assets		$	348,574			$	292,210			$	328,772			$	246,612
Average gross loans		$	175,748			$	192,418			$	187,096			$	173,923
Average deposits		$	325,436			$	253,908			$	305,234			$	224,966
Average equity		$	26,488			$	24,583			$	26,772			$	24,551
CREDIT QUALITY		End of period
(unaudited)		December 31, 2021				December 31, 2020
Non-performing loans		$	115,434			$	119,836
Non-performing loans to total loans			0.07%				0.06%
Non-performing loans to total assets			0.03%				0.04%
Allowance for loan losses to total loans			2.21%				1.67%
Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total loans and OREO			0.07%				0.06%
Allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans			3368.57%				2730.33%
OTHER PERIOD-END STATISTICS
(unaudited)
Shareholders equity to total assets			7.82%				8.65%
Net loans to deposits			53.59%				74.00%
Non-interest bearing deposits to total deposits			61.24%				56.43%
Total capital to total risk-weighted assets			21.40%				18.30%
Tier 1 capital to total risk-weighted assets			24.35%				20.16%
Company Leverage Ratio			8.84%				11.44%

CONTACT: Contact: Dann H. Bowman, President and CEO or Melinda M. Milincu, Vice President and CFO, Chino Commercial Bancorp and Chino Commercial Bank, N.A., 14245 Pipeline Avenue, Chino, CA. 91710, (909) 393-8880.