Recently enacted legislation directs the federal bank regulatory agencies to develop a “Community Bank Leverage Ratio,” calculated by dividing tangible equity capital by average consolidated total assets, of not less than 8% and not more than 10%. On November 21, 2018, pursuant to the Regulatory Relief Act, the federal banking agencies issued a notice of proposed rulemaking proposing a community bank leverage ratio of 9%. The comment period for the proposed rule has since closed, but the regulation is not yet finalized. The final community bank ratio is not known at this time.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 and 2018
Earnings Summary
Financial had net income including all operating segments of $1,234,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared to $1,123,000 for the comparable period in 2018. Basic and diluted earnings per common share for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $0.28, compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.26 for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
The increase in net income for the three months ended March 31, as compared to the prior year was due primarily to an increase in interest income andnon-interest income and was partially offset by an increase in interest expense andnon-interest expense.Non-interest expense increased in large part because of the Bank’s continued emphasis on growth in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Roanoke, and, most recently, Lexington. These efforts resulted primarily in increases in personnel, occupancy, equipment, and other outside expenses. Additional expenses related to properties held in OREO also contributed to an increase in noninterest expenses when comparing the two quarters.
These operating results represent an annualized return on average stockholders’ equity of 8.73% for the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared with 8.62% for the three months ended March 31, 2018. This increase for the three months was a direct result of the increase in net income as compared to the comparable period in 2018. The Company had an annualized return on average assets of 0.74% for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared with 0.72% for the same period in 2018. The increase for the three months ended March 31, 2019 largely resulted from an increase in net income.
See “Non-Interest Income” below for mortgage business segment discussion.
Interest Income, Interest Expense, and Net Interest Income
Interest income increased to $7,234,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2019 from $6,155,000 for the same period in 2018, an increase of 17.53%. Interest income increased primarily because of increased balances in the loan portfolio and increases in interest rates tied to floating rate loans. The average rate received on earning assets increased from 4.22% to 4.62% for the three months ended March 31, 2019 from the comparable period in 2018. The rate on total average earning assets increased for the three months ended March 31, 2019 as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2018 primarily because of multiple recent short term rate increases by the FOMC, which, as noted above, resulted in an increase in the rates paid by borrowers on floating rate loans.
Interest expense increased to $1,104,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2019 from $824,000 for the same period in 2018, an increase of 33.98%. The increase in interest expense resulted primarily from an increase on the rates paid on and balances of deposits. The Bank’s average rate paid on interest bearing deposits was 0.82% during the three months ended March 31, 2019 as compared to 0.64% for the same period in 2018.
The fundamental source of the Bank’s net revenue is net interest income, which is determined by the difference between (i) interest and dividend income on interest earning assets, which consist primarily of loans, investment securities and other investments, and (ii) interest expense on interest-bearing liabilities, which consist principally of deposits and other borrowings. Net interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $6,130,000 as compared to $5,331,000 for the same period in 2018, an increase of 14.99%. The increase in net interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2019 as
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