Citizens Community Bank (CZYB) Reports 50% Increase in Earnings per Share in Q1 2010

Citizens Community Bank had total assets of $171.9 million and total deposits of $142.2 million as of March 31, 2010. Both total assets and total loans were about flat with the same quarter in 2009.

The bank gave positive commentary on the direction and strength of the economic recovery in its service area. Citizens Community Bank reported a 4.23% net interest margin in the first quarter of 2010, compared to 3.41% in the same quarter of last year.

Tom Manson, the CEO of Citizens Community Bank, said, “We are making steady progress to emerge from the stresses of a weak economy, lagging high unemployment levels and increasing levels of non-performing assets in our trading area. Despite this challenging environment, we have affected significant growth in our net interest margin and delivered an increase of 82 basis points over the first quarter of 2009.”

Citizens Community Bank reported an increase in the percentage of nonperforming loans, which reached 2.44% of outstanding loans, up from 1.83% in the first quarter of 2010.

Citizens Community Bank is a state chartered bank headquartered in Virginia. The bank has five branches spread over various areas in Virginia and North Carolina.