SOURCE: Columbia Commercial Bancorp

 
 
Feb 06, 2009 19:00 ET

Columbia Commercial Bancorp Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 Earnings

HILLSBORO, OR--(Marketwire - February 6, 2009) - Columbia Commercial Bancorp (OTCBB: CLBC), a single bank holding company for Columbia Community Bank, reports a net loss for fourth quarter 2008 of $203,000, or $0.06 loss per diluted share, compared to net income of $1,093,000 and $0.34 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2007. For the year, net income was $1,311,000 or $0.42 per diluted share, after a $4,230,000 loan loss provision for 2008 compared to a $740,000 loan loss provision during 2007 in which net income was $4,155,000, or $1.34 per diluted share. "Management is closely monitoring its residential construction loan portfolio given the current real estate market and, as a result, the Company took a provision for loan loss expense of $1,550,000 in the fourth quarter of this year compared to only $180,000 in the same quarter for 2007. Even though the Company has seen growth in its earning assets throughout the year, the $4,230,000 loan loss provision expense taken during 2008 and the net interest margin compression from the Federal Reserve's continued lowering of market rates meant earnings were adversely affected in 2008 relative to prior years," states the Company's President and CEO, Rick A. Roby.

Total assets at December 31, 2008 grew to $402.5 million compared to $349.2 million at the end of 2007, an increase of $53.1 million or 15.2%. The Company's allowance for loan losses at $5.8 million is 1.85% of loans as of December 31, 2008 compared to $3.1 million or 1.09% of loans at the end of 2007. The allowance for loan loss reserve grew as a result of the $4.2 million provision for loan loss expense during 2008 relative to the $1.5 million in charge-offs taken within the Bank's residential construction loan portfolio during the year.

Fourth Quarter 2008 Performance Measures:

--  Return on equity of -3.43%
--  Return on assets of -0.21%
--  Net interest margin of 3.02%
--  Efficiency ratio of 60.3%
    

Year-to-Date 2008 Performance Measures:

--  Return on equity of 5.61%
--  Return on assets of 0.34%
--  Net interest margin of 3.54%
--  Efficiency ratio of 54.5%
--  Loans at $315.2 million, growth of $31.2 million or 11.0% for 2008
--  Investments at $57.5 million, growth of $7.5 million or 15.0% for 2008
--  Deposit growth of $52.4 million, or 22.1% during 2008
    

Fred Johnson, the Bank's Chief Credit Officer, states, "We are working hard to reduce our residential construction and land development loan portfolios which is not an easy task in today's market. We continue to work closely with our builders and developers. While our loan officers have well-established relationships with these clients, loan administration is still closely monitoring them and expeditiously taking all the necessary courses of action to protect the Company and its shareholders." Regarding the rest of the Company's loan portfolio, Johnson continues, "Outside of the residential construction and land development loans, the Company's remaining portfolio is performing very well with no charge-offs during 2008 and only modest delinquencies."

Net interest income for the 2008 fiscal year was $13.0 million, down $800,000 or 5.7% when compared to the $13.8 million for 2007. Net interest margin for 2008 at 3.54% was down 1.05% when compared to the 4.59% for 2007. The Company's Chief Financial Officer, Bob Ekblad, states, "Net interest margin continues to drop and was 3.02% for the fourth quarter of this year. Loan yields have dropped with market rate declines and the increase in non-accrual loans along with the extremely competitive nature of local deposits have also adversely affected margin."

"The banking industry had a challenging year in 2008 and our Company was no exception," said the Company's President and CEO, Rick A. Roby. Roby continued by stating "The Company will continue to be challenged with its residential construction and land development loan portfolio going into 2009, but I am confident we made significant strides to identify and quantify these portfolio's underlying risk during 2008. The Company continues to be profitable, meets the federal regulatory definition of well-capitalized, and we believe it is well positioned for moving forward into 2009."

About Columbia Commercial Bancorp:

Information about the Company's stock may be obtained through the Over the Counter Bulletin Board at www.otcbb.com. Columbia Commercial Bancorp's stock symbol is CLBC.

Columbia Commercial Bancorp was formed in 2002 as a holding company for Columbia Community Bank, which was opened in 1999 by local business people to provide business loans and deposit products for Oregon businesses.

With offices in Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Tanasbourne and Tigard/Durham, Columbia Community Bank is dedicated to providing a superior and personalized business banking experience for its clients in and around Oregon. The Bank was named among the "100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon" by Oregon Business Magazine (2009 and 2007) and the Bank has also been named by Portland Business Journal as one of the "100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in Oregon" consistently over the past several years. In 2008, US Banker magazine ranked Columbia Commercial Bancorp number 15 among 1,115 financial institutions in the nation with assets of $2 billion or less based upon a three-year average return on equity.

For more information about Columbia Commercial Bancorp, or its subsidiary, Columbia Community Bank, call (503) 693-7500 or visit our website at www.columbiacommunitybank.com. Information contained in or linked to our website is not incorporated as a part of this release.

Certain statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the definition of the "safe-harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are subject to significant uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in such statements. Forward-looking statements are those that incorporate management's current expectations and plans based on information currently know to them. These statements can sometimes be identified by words such as "believe," "estimate," "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "will," "may," "should," or other similar phrases or words. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. In particular, they should not be construed as assurances of a given level of performance or as promises of a given set of management's actions. Some of the factors that could cause management to deviate from its current plans, or could cause the Company's results to differ from current expectations, include the effect of localized or regional economic shifts that may affect the collectability of loans or the value of the collateral underlying those loans; the effects of laws, regulations, policies and government actions upon the Company's assets and operations; sensitivity to the Northwestern Oregon geographic markets and events affecting those markets: and the impacts of new government initiatives (such as climate change initiatives and other programs) upon us and our borrowers. The Company does not intend to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

                         Consolidated Balance Sheet
                                 Unaudited
                 (amounts in 000's, except per share data)

                                           % Change   September
                         December 31,      2008 vs.      30,     % Change
                       2008       2007       2007       2008      Quarter
                     ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------

ASSETS
   Cash & due from
    banks            $   9,274  $   4,724       96.3% $   3,378      174.5%
   Federal funds
    sold                 8,739        737     1085.8%       617     1316.4%
   Investments          57,463     49,976       15.0%    50,361       14.1%

   Gross loans         315,150    283,967       11.0%   311,142        1.3%
   Allowance for
    loan losses         (5,839)    (3,100)      88.4%    (5,280)      10.6%
                     ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
      Net loans        309,311    280,867       10.1%   305,862        1.1%

   Other assets         17,685     12,887       37.2%    17,855       -1.0%
                     ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------

      Total Assets   $ 402,472  $ 349,191       15.3% $ 378,073        6.5%
                     =========  =========  =========  =========  =========

LIABILITIES
   Deposits          $ 289,089  $ 236,690       22.1% $ 270,063        7.0%
   Repurchase
    agreements          15,810     16,375       -3.5%    11,352       39.3%
   Federal funds
    purchased                -          -        0.0%         -        0.0%
   FHLB borrowings      59,135     59,000        0.2%    60,135       -1.7%
   Real estate
    borrowings           1,819      1,901       -4.3%     1,840       -1.1%
   Junior
    subordinated
    debentures           8,248      8,248        0.0%     8,248        0.0%
   Other liabilities     4,770      4,880       -2.3%     3,066       55.6%
                     ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
      Total
       Liabilities     378,871    327,094       15.8%   354,704        6.8%

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY    23,601     22,097        6.8%    23,369        1.0%
                     ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------

      Total
       liabilities
       and
       stockholders'
       equity        $ 402,472  $ 349,191       15.3% $ 378,073        6.5%
                     =========  =========  =========  =========  =========

Shares outstanding
 at end-of-period    3,126,081  3,006,236             3,111,081
Book value per share $    7.55  $    7.35             $    7.51
Allowance for loan
 losses to total
 loans                    1.85%      1.09%                 1.70%
Non-performing
 assets (non-accrual
 loans & OREO)       $  22,058  $       -             $  10,487










                        Consolidated Income Statement
                                  Unaudited
            (amounts in 000's, except per share data and ratios)

                Twelve Months Ending          Three Months Ending
                ----------------------------  ----------------------------
              12/31/2008 12/31/2007 % Change 12/31/2008 9/30/2008 % Change
                --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------
INTEREST INCOME
   Loans        $ 22,243  $ 23,860      -6.8% $  5,136  $  5,513     -6.84%
   Investments     2,875     2,368      21.4%      595       716    -16.90%
   Federal
    funds sold
    and other        164       155       5.8%      106        14    657.14%
                --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------
      Total
       interest
       income     25,282    26,383      -4.2%    5,837     6,243     -6.50%
                --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------

INTEREST
 EXPENSE
   Deposits        8,845     8,948      -1.2%    2,161     2,123      1.79%
   Repurchase
    agreements
    and federal
    funds
    purchased        424       760     -44.2%       70        83    -15.66%
   FHLB
    borrowings     2,415     2,128      13.5%      602       608     -0.99%
   Real estate
    borrowings       138       144      -4.2%       34        35     -2.86%
   Junior
    subordinated
    debentures       489       651     -24.9%      122       108     12.96%
                --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------
      Total
       interest
       expense    12,311    12,631      -2.5%    2,989     2,957      1.08%
                --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------

NET INTEREST
 INCOME BEFORE
 PROVISION FOR
 LOAN LOSSES      12,971    13,752      -5.7%    2,848     3,286    -13.33%

PROVISION FOR
 LOAN LOSSES       4,230       740     471.6%    1,550       950     63.16%
                --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------

NET INTEREST
 INCOME AFTER
 PROVISION FOR
 LOAN LOSSES       8,741    13,012     -32.8%    1,298     2,336    -44.43%

NON-INTEREST
 INCOME              478       313      52.7%      115       129    -10.85%

NON-INTEREST
 EXPENSE           7,330     6,530      12.3%    1,787     1,898     -5.85%

SECURITY GAINS
 / (LOSSES)           51      (122)      n/a         1        10    -90.00%
                --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------

INCOME BEFORE
 PROVISION FOR
 INCOME TAXES      1,940     6,673     -70.9%     (373)      577   -164.64%

PROVISION
 (BENEFIT) FOR
 INCOME TAXES        629     2,518     -75.0%     (170)      191   -189.01%
                --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  --------

NET INCOME      $  1,311  $  4,155     -68.4% $   (203) $    386   -152.59%
                ========  ========  ========  ========  ========  ========

Earnings per
 share - Basic
 (1)            $   0.43  $   1.40            $  (0.07) $   0.13

Earnings per
 share -
 Diluted (1)    $   0.42  $   1.34            $  (0.06) $   0.12

Return on
 average equity     5.61%    21.45%              -3.43%     6.72%
Return on
 average assets     0.34%     1.36%              -0.21%     0.40%
Net interest
 margin             3.54%     4.59%               3.02%     3.55%
Efficiency
 ratio              54.5%    46.43%               60.3%    55.55%

(1) All prior periods have been restated for the 100% stock dividend
effective July 1, 2007.
CONTACT:
Rick A. Roby
President & Chief Executive Officer
503-693-7500
rick@columbiacommunitybank.com