AB&T’s trend of growing net income and earnings per share continued throughout 2019. Net Income for the year climbed 16.9% to $1.453 million and resulted in fully diluted earnings per share of $1.18, up from $1.01 in 2018. This improvement in net income was accomplished even as the bank absorbed about $266 thousand in non-recurring charges related to converting to a new core processing system in November 2019.

For 2019, Average Loans were up 11.5% compared to 2018 and Average Deposits grew 4.8%. In addition, the change in deposit mix as evidenced by 24.4% growth in Average Non-Interest-Bearing Demand Deposits during the year helped hold down funding costs and improve net interest income.

The bank’s asset quality also remained strong in 4Q19, with Non-Performing Assets as a Percent of Total Assets standing at only 0.43% and the bank’s Allowance for Loan Losses as a Percent of Total Loans at 1.16%. Non-Performing Assets included one loan that represented the bulk of the total. Repayment of the loan including interest and fees is expected in 1Q20.

As previously reported, in 3Q19 the bank had added $90,000 to the Allowance for Loan Losses to support overall loan growth.

Also, in 2019, Bank Capital continued to grow, with the Tier 1 Leverage Ratio improving to 8.92%, up from 8.47% at year-end 2018, and the Total Capital Ratio climbing to 11.80% up from 11.11% at year-end 2018.

As of December 31, 2019, the bank reported Fully Diluted Book Value per Share of $12.87.

AB&T continued on its path toward providing superior financial returns to shareholders throughout 2019, while also adhering to our commitment to operational excellence. Our talented and dedicated bankers once again showed how marrying our superior financial products and services with a deep understanding our clients and community will remain a winning strategy.

At AB&T, all our efforts will continue to be focused on realizing our vision of becoming the Gold Standard of community banking.