Community West Bancshares Earns $1.6 Million, or $0.18 Per Diluted Share, in 2Q19; Highlighted by Continued Net Interest Margin Improvement; Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.055 Per Common Share


GOLETA, Calif., July 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Community West Bancshares (Community West or the Company), (NASDAQ: CWBC), parent company of Community West Bank (Bank), today reported earnings of $1.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2019 (2Q19), compared to $1.5 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in 1Q19, and $1.9 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, in 2Q18.

In the first six months of 2019, net income was $3.1 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, compared to $3.7 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, in the first six months of 2018.

“Our operating performance in the second quarter generated solid net interest income and an improved net interest margin, due to strong loan growth, higher loan yields and an improved asset mix,” stated Martin E. Plourd, President and Chief Executive Officer.  “While our earnings have been impacted by branch expansion costs over these last several quarters, we are now beginning to see the positive results of our efforts, with total demand deposits increasing 24% year-over-year.  With an appreciation for the patience of our shareholders and our recent office expansion completed, our focus moving forward is growing revenue, reducing reliance on expensive non-core funding, and intently rationalizing our non-interest expenses.”

Second Quarter 2019 Financial Highlights:

  • Net income was $1.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in 2Q19, compared to $1.5 million, or $0.18 per diluted share in 1Q19, and $1.9 million, or $0.21 per diluted share in 2Q18.
  • Net interest margin improved to 4.07% for 2Q19, compared to 3.99% for 1Q19 and compared to 4.06% for 2Q18.
  • Total demand deposits increased $33.7 million to $456.3 million at June 30, 2019, compared to $422.6 million at March 31, 2019, and increased $88.4 million compared to $367.9 million at June 30, 2018. 
  • Total loans increased $18.8 million to $788.9 million at June 30, 2019, compared to $770.1 million at March 31, 2019, and increased $29.0 million compared to $759.9 million at June 30, 2018. 
  • Book value per common share increased to $9.19 at June 30, 2019, compared to $9.05 at March 31, 2019, and $8.90 at June 30, 2018. 
  • Provision for loan losses was $177,000 for the quarter, compared to a credit for loan losses of ($57,000) for 1Q19, and provision for loan losses of $117,000 for 2Q18.
  • Net nonaccrual loans decreased to $3.0 million at June 30, 2019, compared to $3.3 million at March 31, 2019, and $3.7 million at June 30, 2018.  The Bank had $1.1 million of other real estate owned at June 30, 2019.

Income Statement

Second quarter net interest income increased to $8.5 million, compared to $8.2 million in 1Q19 and $8.3 million in 2Q18.  In the first six months of 2019 net interest income was $16.7 million, which was unchanged compared to the first six months of 2018. 

Non-interest income was $692,000 in 2Q19, compared to $604,000 in 1Q19 and $688,000 in 2Q18.  Non-interest income was $1.3 million in both the first six months of 2019 and 2018.

“Our net interest margin improved eight basis points in the second quarter compared to the preceding quarter as a result of improved yields on earning assets and stabilization in our cost of funds,” said Susan C. Thompson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  Second quarter net interest margin improved to 4.07%, from 3.99% in 1Q19, and 4.06% in 2Q18.  In the first six months of 2019, the net interest margin was 4.03%, compared to 4.15% in the prior year period.

Non-interest expenses totaled $6.8 million in 2Q19, compared to $6.7 million in the preceding quarter and $6.3 million in the prior year second quarter.  In the first six months of 2019, non-interest expense was $13.5 million, compared to $12.8 million in the first six months of 2018.  The year-over-year increase for the six-month period was primarily attributable to the Company’s expansion, including the most recent opening of our full-service branch in Paso Robles in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Balance Sheet

Total loans increased $18.8 million, or 2.4% to $788.9 million at June 30, 2019, compared to $770.1 million at March 31, 2019, and increased $29.0 million, or 3.8%, compared to $759.9 million at June 30, 2018.  

Commercial real estate loans outstanding (which include SBA 504, construction and land) were up 7.3% from year ago levels to $391.3 million at June 30, 2019 and comprise 49.6% of the total loan portfolio.  Manufactured housing loans were up 8.0% from year ago levels to $253.3 million and represent 32.1% of total loans.  Commercial loans (which include agriculture loans) were down 8.2% from year ago levels to $108.6 million and represent 13.8% of the total loan portfolio.

Total deposits increased $30.4 million, or 4.1% to $765.1 million at June 30, 2019, compared to $734.7 million at March 31, 2019, and increased $62.5 million, or 8.9% compared to $702.6 million at June 30, 2018.  Non-interest bearing demand deposits decreased to $112.5 million at June 30, 2019 compared to $135.5 million at March 31, 2019, but increased $5.3 million compared to $107.2 million at June 30, 2018.  Interest-bearing demand deposits increased $56.7 million to $343.8 million compared to $287.1 million at March 31, 2019 and increased $83.1 million compared to $260.7 million at June 30, 2018.  Certificates of deposit which include broker deposits decreased $4.5 million to $292.5 million at June 30, 2019 compared to $297.0 million at March 31, 2019 and decreased $27.7 million compared to $320.2 million at June 30, 2018.

Total assets were $905.6 million at June 30, 2019, compared to $882.4 million at March 31, 2019 and increased $40.4 million, or 4.7%, compared to $865.1 million at June 30, 2018.  Stockholders’ equity increased to $77.8 million at June 30, 2019, compared to $76.5 million at March 31, 2019, and $73.4 million at June 30, 2018.  Book value per common share increased to $9.19 at June 30, 2019, compared to $9.05 at March 31, 2019, and $8.90 at June 30, 2018. 

Credit Quality

Due to strong loan growth in the second quarter, the Company recorded a provision for loan losses of $177,000.  This compares to a credit to the provision for loan losses of ($57,000) in 1Q19 and provision for loan losses of $117,000 in 2Q18.  The allowance for loan losses including the reserve for undisbursed loans was $9.0 million at June 30, 2019, or 1.20% of total loans held for investment, compared to 1.20% at March 31, 2019, and 1.22% a year ago.  Net nonaccrual loans plus net other assets acquired through foreclosure were $4.1 million at June 30, 2019, compared to $3.3 million at March 31, 2019, and $3.9 million at June 30, 2018.  

At June 30, 2019, net nonaccrual loans consisted of $2.3 million of commercial loans including commercial agriculture, $0.3 million of manufactured housing loans, $0.2 million of home equity loans, $0.1 million of SBA loans, and $0.1 million of commercial real estate loans.

There was $1.1 million in other assets acquired through foreclosure as of June 30, 2019.  This compares to no other assets acquired through foreclosure at March 31, 2019, and $213,000 in other assets acquired through foreclosure a year ago. 

Cash Dividend Declared

The Company’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.055 per common share, payable August 30, 2019 to common shareholders of record on August 13, 2019.  The current annualized yield, based on the closing price of CWBC shares of $9.65 on June 30, 2019, was 2.23%.

Company Overview

Community West Bancshares is a financial services company with headquarters in Goleta, California. The Company is the holding company for Community West Bank, the largest publicly traded community bank serving California’s Central Coast area of Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.  Community West Bank has eight full-service California branch banking offices in Goleta, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Ventura, Westlake Village, San Luis Obispo, Oxnard and Paso Robles.  The principal business activities of the Company are Relationship Banking, Manufactured Housing lending and Government Guaranteed lending.

Industry Accolades

In April 2019, Community West was awarded a “Premier” rating by The Findley Reports.  For 51 years, The Findley Reports has been recognizing the financial performance of banking institutions in California and the Western United States.  In making their selections, The Findley Reports focuses on these four ratios: growth, return on beginning equity, net operating income as a percentage of average assets, and loan losses as a percentage of gross loans.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current views of future events and operations.  These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company as of the date of this release.  It is important to note that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the ability of the Company to implement its strategy and expand its lending operations.

COMMUNITY WEST BANCSHARES         
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS         
(unaudited)         
(in 000's, except per share data)         
          
 Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
 June 30, March 31, June 30, June 30, June 30,
 2019 2019 2018 2019 2018
                    
Interest income                   
Loans, including fees$10,907  $10,541  $10,020  $21,448  $19,671 
Investment securities and other 460   484   381   944   718 
Total interest income 11,367   11,025   10,401   22,392   20,389 
Interest expense                   
Deposits 2,583   2,444   1,708   5,027   3,151 
Other borrowings 286   358   382   644   577 
Total interest expense 2,869   2,802   2,090   5,671   3,728 
Net interest income 8,498   8,223   8,311   16,721   16,661 
Provision (credit) for loan losses 177   (57)  117   120   (27)
Net interest income after provision for loan losses 8,321   8,280   8,194   16,601   16,688 
Non-interest income                   
Other loan fees 323   258   323   581   619 
Document processing fees 124   87   130   211   247 
Service charges 139   139   122   278   238 
Other 106   120   113   226   223 
Total non-interest income 692   604   688   1,296   1,327 
Non-interest expenses                   
Salaries and employee benefits 4,318   4,381   4,042   8,699   8,191 
Occupancy, net 768   782   741   1,550   1,525 
Professional services 405   381   301   786   605 
Data processing 201   224   206   425   418 
Depreciation 218   213   186   431   353 
FDIC assessment 154   170   164   324   378 
Advertising and marketing 230   129   163   359   333 
Stock-based compensation 97   95   87   192   203 
Other 369   342   367   711   784 
Total non-interest expenses 6,760   6,717   6,257   13,477   12,790 
Income before provision for income taxes 2,253   2,167   2,625   4,420   5,225 
Provision for income taxes 673   657   758   1,330   1,544 
Net income$1,580  $1,510  $1,867  $3,090  $3,681 
Earnings per share:                   
Basic$0.19  $0.18  $0.23  $0.37  $0.45 
Diluted$0.18  $0.18  $0.21  $0.36  $0.42 
                    


COMMUNITY WEST BANCSHARES       
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS       
(unaudited)       
(in 000's, except per share data)       
        
 June 30, March 31, June 30, December 31,
  2019   2019   2018   2018 
                
Cash and cash equivalents$2,032  $1,907  $3,376  $2,983 
Interest-earning deposits in other financial institutions 55,149   51,499   50,986   53,932 
Investment securities 30,414   31,562   33,720   32,353 
Loans:               
Commercial 108,599   116,103   118,263   118,518 
Commercial real estate 391,293   369,206   364,679   365,809 
SBA 17,560   18,070   22,724   19,077 
Manufactured housing 253,250   248,669   234,598   247,114 
Single family real estate 11,575   11,611   10,682   11,261 
HELOC 6,696   6,585   9,502   6,756 
Other (65)  (178)  (558)  (292)
Total loans 788,908   770,066   759,890   768,243 
                
Loans, net               
Held for sale 45,447   46,995   52,886   48,355 
Held for investment 743,461   723,071   707,004   719,888 
Less: Allowance for loan losses (8,887)  (8,648)  (8,622)  (8,691)
Net held for investment 734,574   714,423   698,382   711,197 
NET LOANS 780,021   761,418   751,268   759,552 
                
Other assets 37,951   36,008   25,777   28,471 
                
TOTAL ASSETS$905,567  $882,394  $865,127  $877,291 
                
Deposits               
Non-interest-bearing demand$112,463  $135,495  $107,168  $108,161 
Interest-bearing demand 343,841   287,095   260,708   270,431 
Savings 16,264   15,128   14,515   14,641 
Certificates of deposit ($250,000 or more) 90,170   91,580   88,752   93,439 
Other certificates of deposit 202,373   205,431   231,460   229,334 
Total deposits 765,111   734,729   702,603   716,006 
Other borrowings 46,000   52,750   81,843   75,000 
Other liabilities 16,627   18,462   7,233   10,134 
TOTAL LIABILITIES 827,738   805,941   791,679   801,140 
                
Stockholders' equity 77,829   76,453   73,448   76,151 
                
                
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY$905,567  $882,394  $865,127  $877,291 
                
Common shares outstanding 8,465   8,450   8,254   8,533 
                
Book value per common share$9.19  $9.05  $8.90  $8.92 
                


ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION         
(Dollars in thousands except per share amounts)(Unaudited)         
 Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND RATIOSJune 30, 2019 March 31, 2019 June 30, 2018 June 30, 2019 June 30, 2018
Return on average common equity 8.18%  7.99%  10.26%  8.09%  10.28%
Return on average assets 0.73%  0.71%  0.90%  0.72%  0.90%
Efficiency ratio 73.56%  76.10%  69.54%  74.80%  71.11%
Net interest margin 4.07%  3.99%  4.06%  4.03%  4.15%
                    
 Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
AVERAGE BALANCESJune 30, 2019 March 31, 2019 June 30, 2018 June 30, 2019 June 30, 2018
Average assets$864,583  $859,684  $836,394  $862,146  $824,611 
Average earning assets 838,104   834,944   820,854   836,533   809,133 
Average total loans 777,828   768,253   750,575   773,067   743,640 
Average deposits 726,366   716,953   704,251   721,685   703,319 
Average common equity 77,432   76,683   72,993   77,059   72,217 
                    
EQUITY ANALYSISJune 30, 2019 March 31, 2019 June 30, 2018    
Total common equity$77,829  $76,453  $73,448     
Common stock outstanding 8,465   8,450   8,254     
                
Book value per common share$9.19  $9.05  $8.90     
                
ASSET QUALITYJune 30, 2019 March 31, 2019 June 30, 2018    
Nonaccrual loans, net$3,016  $3,257  $3,704     
Nonaccrual loans, net/total loans 0.38%  0.42%  0.49%    
Other assets acquired through foreclosure, net$1,074  $-  $213     
                
Nonaccrual loans plus other assets acquired through foreclosure, net$4,090  $3,257  $3,917     
Nonaccrual loans plus other assets acquired through foreclosure, net/total assets 0.45%  0.37%  0.45%    
Net loan (recoveries)/charge-offs in the quarter$(62) $(14) $(47)    
Net (recoveries)/charge-offs in the quarter/total loans (0.01%)  0.00%  (0.01%)    
                
Allowance for loan losses$8,887  $8,648  $8,622     
Plus: Reserve for undisbursed loan commitments 81   87   97     
Total allowance for credit losses$8,968  $8,735  $8,719     
Allowance for loan losses/total loans held for investment 1.20%  1.20%  1.22%    
Allowance for loan losses/nonaccrual loans, net 294.66%  265.52%  232.78%    
                
Community West Bank *               
Tier 1 leverage ratio 8.66%  8.63%  8.88%    
Tier 1 capital ratio 9.53%  9.62%  10.10%    
Total capital ratio 10.67%  10.76%  11.28%    
                
INTEREST SPREAD ANALYSISJune 30, 2019 March 31, 2019 June 30, 2018    
Yield on total loans 5.62%  5.56%  5.35%    
Yield on investments 3.89%  3.55%  2.74%    
Yield on interest earning deposits 1.89%  2.22%  1.49%    
Yield on earning assets 5.44%  5.36%  5.08%    
                
Cost of interest-bearing deposits 1.70%  1.64%  1.16%    
Cost of total deposits 1.43%  1.38%  0.97%    
Cost of borrowings 2.64%  2.91%  2.90%    
Cost of interest-bearing liabilities 1.76%  1.74%  1.30%    
                
* Capital ratios are preliminary until the Call Report is filed.               


Contact:Susan C. Thompson, EVP & CFO
 805.692.5821
 www.communitywestbank.com