Vancouver-based First Independent Bank earned a net income of $2.2 million in its fiscal third quarter, raising its net income for the fiscal year to $9.7 million, the bank reported Tuesday. Its assets declined from the previous quarter by $4.6 million, to $791.9 million. Total loan balances dropped to $473.8 million, from $489.3 million.
The privately held bank said it has capital reserves of 17.4 percent, up from last quarter’s 16.9 percent and well above the 10 percent regulators recommend. “This has been a chance to regrow our balance sheet,” said Chief Financial Officer Steve Bernhoft. “Having this high of a capital ratio gives us the cushion to allow us to grow.”
First Independent has eliminated its set-aside for losses on troubled loans, and now has a $3 million credit in that account rather than the $27 million it had been required to hold in reserve a year ago. That turnaround is due largely to the Firstenburg family, which owns the bank. The family earlier this year removed millions of dollars in troubled loans from the bank’s books and also contributed $28 million in cash and real estate.
