Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results

SPOKANE, Wash., Oct. 14, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. (OTC Pink: NBCT) (the "Company"), the holding company of Inland Northwest Bank (the "Bank" or "INB"), today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2016.

Net income for the third quarter of 2016 was $1.55 million, compared to $1.27 million for the previous quarter and $735 thousand for the third quarter of 2015.  Earnings per diluted share increased 20.0%, from $0.20 for the second quarter of 2016, to $0.24 for the third quarter of 2016, and are up $0.09 from the third quarter of last year partially due to a 29% increase in the number of weighted average shares outstanding resulting from the Company's capital raise during the third quarter of 2015.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2016, net income was $3.67 million, compared to $2.33 million for the corresponding period in 2015, representing an increase of $1.33 million, or 57.1%.  Earnings per diluted share increased 7.7%, from $0.52 for the first nine months of 2015, to $0.56 for the first nine months of 2016.  Excluding nonrecurring acquisition expenses of $314 thousand, net of tax, earnings for the first nine months of 2016 would have been $3.98 million and earnings per diluted share would have been $0.61 for the first nine months of 2016.

Company President and CEO, Russell Lee, commented, "Our Company's third quarter results continue to show the value to our shareholders from our combination with the former Bank of Fairfield.  We have continued to show quarterly EPS growth as the acquisition process has moved forward.  In addition, loan growth from the acquired loan portfolio has allowed us to remain selective in what has proved to be a very competitive 2016 commercial loan environment."

Balance sheet

As of September 30, 2016, the Company had total assets of $647.9 million, compared to $594.0 million on June 30, 2016 and $468.7 million on September 30, 2015.  The increase in assets of $53.9 million, or 9.1%, during the third quarter was primarily related to an increase in deposits.  Year over year, assets are up $179.2 million, or 38.2%; $133.8 million of this increase was attributable to the acquisition of Fairfield Financial Holdings Corp. ("Fairfield") during the fourth quarter of 2015.

The investment portfolio was $31.9 million as of September 30, 2016, down $722 thousand, or 2.2%, from $32.6 million at June 30, 2016.  The net unrealized gain in the portfolio was $865 thousand, 15.9% lower than the $1.0 million net unrealized gain at June 30, 2016.

The net loan portfolio was $470.7 million on September 30, 2016.  This represents a decrease of $8.4 million, or 1.7%, from last quarter.  Year over year, the net loan portfolio was up $108.3 million, or 29.9%.

Deposits at September 30, 2016 were $560.1 million, an increase of $52.7 million, or 10.4%, compared to June 30, 2016 and an increase of $175.6 million, or 45.7%, compared to September 30, 2015.  The increase during the third quarter was partially related to seasonal deposit inflow replacing the outflow from the second quarter, as well as a short-term $16 million deposit from one customer on the last day of the quarter.  Noninterest bearing deposits were $176.9 million at quarter end, representing 31.6% of total deposits.  This compares to noninterest bearing deposits of $141.4 million, or 27.9% of total deposits, at June 30, 2016, and to $100.6 million, or 26.2% of total deposits, at September 30, 2015.

Asset quality, provision and allowance for loan losses

The Bank's nonperforming assets ("NPAs") were $1.6 million at quarter end, representing 0.24% of total assets.  NPAs are defined as loans on which the Bank has stopped accruing interest and includes foreclosed real estate.  NPAs at the end of last quarter were $1.6 million, representing 0.27% of total assets, and at September 30, 2015, NPAs were $1.3 million, representing 0.27% of total assets.

The Bank had net loan recoveries of $23 thousand and net loan charge-offs of $79 thousand for the three and nine-month periods ending on September 30, 2016, compared to net loan recoveries of $10 thousand and $72 thousand for the comparable periods in 2015.  The provision for loan losses was $60 thousand and $363 thousand for the three and nine-month periods ending on September 30, 2016, compared to $60 thousand and $180 thousand for the comparable periods in 2015.  As of September 30, 2016, the allowance for loan losses was $6.3 million, or 1.32% of gross loans; this was slightly higher than on December 31, 2015 when it was $6.0 million and represented 1.25% of the loan portfolio.

Capital

Shareholders' equity increased $1.5 million, or 2.4%, during the third quarter of 2016, which was mostly related to earnings retention.  Tangible book value of the Company's common stock was $8.96 per share on September 30, 2016, up $0.23, or 2.6%, over the $8.73 per share on June 30, 2016.

The Bank continues to maintain capital levels in excess of the requirements to be categorized as "well-capitalized" under regulatory standards.  As of September 30, 2016, the Bank's Tier 1 leverage capital to average assets ratio was 11.0%, its common equity Tier 1 ("CET1") capital ratio was 11.9%, and its total capital to risk-weighted assets ratio was 13.0%.  The regulatory requirements to be considered "well-capitalized" for these three ratios are 5.0%, 6.5%, and 10.0%, respectively.

Total revenue

Total revenue was $7.7 million for the third quarter of 2016, representing an increase of $292 thousand, or 3.9%, from the previous quarter, and representing an increase of $2.1 million, or 38.6%, over the comparable quarter in 2015.  Total revenue was $22.2 million for the first nine months of 2016, compared to $15.9 million for the same period in 2015, representing an increase of $6.3 million, or 40.0%.  Total revenue is defined as net interest income plus noninterest income.

Net interest income

Net interest income was $6.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $204 thousand, or 3.3%, from the previous quarter and an increase of $2.0 million, or 44.1%, from the third quarter of 2015.  Net interest income was $18.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $5.9 million, or 45.4%, from the comparable period in 2015.  The net interest margin (interest income minus interest expense, divided by average earning assets) improved from 4.52% in the second quarter of 2016 to 4.55% in the third quarter of 2016.  Year to date, the NIM was 4.48% compared to 4.12% last year through September; excluding net purchased loan discount accretion, the year-to-date NIM was 4.28%.

Noninterest income

Noninterest income was $1.3 million during the third quarter of 2016, up $88 thousand, or 7.6%, from the previous quarter; this increase was largely related to higher revenues from sales of residential mortgage loans.  Noninterest income for the first nine months of 2016 was $3.5 million, an increase of $492 thousand, or 16.5%, over the same period in 2015.  This year over year increase in noninterest income was primarily due to increased revenues from the Fairfield acquisition, as well as an increase in debit card interchange income related to a conversion from Visa to MasterCard.

Noninterest expense

Noninterest expense totaled $5.3 million during the third quarter of 2016, down $46 thousand, or 0.9%, from the previous quarter.  Included in noninterest expense during the quarter were nonrecurring acquisition costs totaling $13 thousand, which were down from $102 thousand in the second quarter of 2016.  Without these acquisition costs, noninterest expense would have increased $43 thousand, or 0.8% over the previous quarter.  Noninterest expense for the first nine months of 2016 was $16.4 million, an increase of $4.2 million, or 34.3%, over the same period in 2015.  This year over year increase in noninterest expense was primarily due to increased operating expenses related to the Fairfield acquisition, higher advertising costs, lower gains on sales of foreclosed real estate and higher nonrecurring acquisition-related costs.

Key ratios

Return on average assets ("ROA") for the third quarter in 2016 was 1.01%, compared to 0.85% in the previous quarter and 0.63% in the third quarter last year.  Return on average equity ("ROE") was 9.69% for the third quarter in 2016, compared to 8.15% in the previous quarter and 5.86% for the third quarter last year.  Excluding the nonrecurring acquisition expenses, ROA would have been 1.01% and 0.87% for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2016, and ROE would have been 9.75% and 8.46% for the same periods, respectively.  Yield on earning assets was 4.97% and 4.60% for the quarters ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and the cost of funds was 0.59% and 0.68%, respectively.

About Northwest Bancorporation, Inc.

Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. is the parent company of Inland Northwest Bank, a state-chartered community bank which currently operates eleven branches in Eastern Washington, and four branches in Northern Idaho.  INB specializes in meeting the financial needs of individuals and small to medium-sized businesses, including professional corporations and agriculture-related operations, by providing a full line of commercial, retail, agricultural, and mortgage and private banking products and services.  More information about INB can be found on its website at www.inb.com.  The Company's stock is quoted on the OTC Market's Pink Marketplace, www.otcmarkets.com, under the symbol NBCT.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that are not historical facts and that are intended to be "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this release that are not historical facts and pertain to the Company's future operating results.  When used in this release, the words "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements, because such statements are inherently subject to significant assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the Company's control.  These include but are not limited to: the possibility of adverse economic developments that may, among other things, increase default and delinquency risks in the Company's loan portfolios; shifts in interest rates; shifts in the rate of inflation; shifts in the demand for the Company's loan and other products; unforeseen increases in costs and expenses; lower-than-expected revenue or cost savings in connection with acquisitions; changes in accounting policies; changes in the monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government; and changes in laws, regulations and the competitive environment.  Unless legally required, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.