FirstBank reported net income of $46.19 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, a 37.6 percent increase over the prior year’s net income of $33.58 million and the fourth consecutive year of record earnings.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2015, net income was $9.48 million, a 13.1 percent increase from $8.38 million during the same quarter of the prior year.
“I’m extremely pleased with our financial results for 2015, which was a momentous year at FirstBank for several reasons,” said FirstBank CEO and President Chris Holmes. “We closed on our acquisition of Northwest Georgia Bank, which greatly increased our market share in Chattanooga. We also achieved significant growth in our loans, customer deposits and revenues. In addition, FirstBank Mortgage Partners had another successful year for loan originations, helping our customers achieve their dream of home ownership.”
Highlights reported from the fourth-quarter and annual financial results:
Bank operating revenue, excluding mortgage revenues, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, was $108.14 million, up 10.7 percent from the $97.70 million for the prior year. Bank operating revenue, excluding mortgage revenues, for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $29.41 million, compared to $24.78 million for the same quarter of the prior year.
Performing loans were $1.96 billion at year-end, up from $1.59 billion at the end of 2014. Year-to-date performing loans grew 16.1 percent, excluding mortgage loans held for sale and the acquisition of NWGB.
Total deposit costs for the fourth quarter of 2015 were 32 basis points, compared to 30 basis points for the third quarter of 2015. Total customer deposits totaled $2.45 billion at the end of 2015, up from $1.93 billion at the end of 2014, reflecting growth of 13.7 percent, excluding NWGB. Non-interest bearing deposits increased to $637.22 million at the end of 2015 from $438.52 million at the end of 2014, an increase of 34.6 percent excluding NWGB.
Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total loans continued to decrease, to 1.16 percent at the end of 2015 from 1.52 percent at the end of 2014.
Net interest margin decreased 7 basis points for the fourth quarter of 2015, to 4.01 percent from 4.08 percent for the same quarter of the prior year. NIM for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, was 4.04 percent, up from 3.98 percent for the prior year.
Non-interest income, excluding securities and other real estate gains/losses, was $84.91 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, up 76.4 percent from $48.14 million for the previous year. The comparable non-interest income for the fourth quarter 2015 was $22.76 million, up 62.3 percent from $14.02 million in the same quarter 2014.
FirstBank Mortgage Partners originated $706.71 million in loans during the fourth quarter of 2015, up from the $409.95 million originated in same quarter of prior year. During 2015, we originated $2.77 billion in mortgages for our customers, helping 13,765 families with their homeownership needs.
Operating efficiency ratio was 76.33 percent for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2015, compared to 85.51 percent for the same quarter of 2014. Our operating efficiency ratio for 2015 was 72.41 percent, compared to 76.40 percent for 2014.
Capital position remained strong at year-end with a total risk-based capital ratio of 11.94 percent, which is above the well-capitalized threshold of 10 percent.
“I’m proud of the progress we made across our growing footprint,” Mr. Holmes said. “Last week, we opened our new banking facility on West End Avenue in Nashville, bringing us to 14 locations in the Nashville area. Our entire team has worked extremely hard to implement our strategic plan focused on growth and profitability while providing our customers with exceptional service.”