Ohana Pacific Bank boosted its net income 33% in the first quarter and said it is looking to expand as the 13-year-old company continues to grow.
The Honolulu-based bank said Friday that double-digit loan growth and a solid increase in deposits helped increase its earnings to $266,000 from $200,000 in the year-earlier period.
“With solid growth, and the dividend announced earlier this year, we have confidence in our proven business model,” Ohana Pacific President and CEO James Hong said. “We will continue to invest in our local community and in our business to better serve our customers. One way we plan to do this is by evaluating the potential opening of new branches in other areas on Oahu.”
Ohana Pacific, which targets the Korean American community and small businesses, currently operates two branches. Its headquarters and main branch are at 1357 Kapiolani Blvd., a block from Ala Moana Center. The bank also has an in-store branch that opened in December 2013 at Palama Super Market in
Kalihi.
The bank reported that loans
increased 12.7% to $135.7 million last quarter from the year-earlier period while deposits gained 6.6% to $142.7 million and assets rose 6.5% to $161.6 million.
“We are pleased with a strong performance in the first quarter due to a stable and growing local economy,” Hong said. “We are particularly pleased with the growth experienced in our total loan portfolio. We’ve made significant improvements to our loan processing, and combined with competitive pricing contributed to the solid loan growth, which subsequently generated substantial growth in net interest income.”
The bank’s net interest income, which is the spread between how much Ohana Pacific pays for deposits and what it charges to lend out money, rose 6.8% to $1.4 million even as its net interest margin fell to 3.49% from 3.63%.
The bank’s noninterest income, which includes service charges and fees, edged up 1.2% to $86,000.
Ohana Pacific’s thinly traded stock last traded April 8 and closed at $7.58.
