CATSKILL, N.Y., Oct. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greene County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: GCBC), the holding company for the Bank of Greene County and its subsidiary Greene County Commercial Bank, today reported net income for the three months ended September 30, 2020, which is the first quarter of the Company’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 was $4.9 million. Earnings per share were $0.57 per basic and diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019.

Donald Gibson, President & CEO stated; “I am pleased to report another very solid quarter. Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 increased slightly even after the Company increased its provision for loan loss by $750,000 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the solid performance, we successfully opened a new branch office located at 103 Wolf Road in Albany County, NY. This newest branch location provides our Bank direct access to the heart of the Capital District Marketplace. We believe this access will provide us with a great opportunity to increase the business in all three of our primary business lines, retail, commercial and municipal.”

Total consolidated assets for the Company were $1.8 billion at September 30, 2020, primarily consisting of $659.8 million of total securities available-for-sale and held-to-maturity and $1.0 billion of net loans. Consolidated deposits totaled $1.6 billion at September 30, 2020, consisting of retail, business and municipal banking relationships. With the opening of the newest branch located at 103 Wolf Road, in Albany County, NY, The Bank of Greene County operates 17 full-service banking offices, with operations and lending centers located in the Capital District and Hudson Valley Regions of New York State.

The novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) continues to impact business throughout the country and in our financial markets. With the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic and effectiveness of containment strategies, the overall impact to the Company’s financial position cannot be determined at this time. However, the Company continues to maintain strong asset quality, capital and liquidity. Management believes it is still well positioned to withstand the financial impact from this health crisis and continues to stand by and work hand in hand with local businesses to be stronger than ever.

Depending upon the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the adequacy of strategies put in place by local and federal governments, borrowers may not have the ability to repay their debt and may ultimately result in losses to the Company. Management continues to closely monitor credit relationships, particularly those on payment deferral or are currently adversely classified. As discussed under Asset Quality and Loan Loss Provision below, the Company has continued to increase its allowance for loan losses during the three months ended September 30, 2020 and believes that total reserves are adequate.

Selected highlights for the three months ended September 30, 2020 are as follows:

Net Interest Income and Margin

• Net interest income increased $1.3 million to $11.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 from $10.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019. The increase in net interest income was primarily the result of the growth in the average balance of interest-earnings assets, which increased $408.5 million when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, offset by decreases in interest rates on interest-earning assets, which decreased 77 basis points when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Of the $408.5 million increase in average interest-earning assets, average loan balances increased $225.3 million and the yield on loans decreased 72 basis points when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019. Average securities increased $201.0 million and the yield on securities decreased 76 basis points when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019. Included in interest-earning assets at September 30, 2020, are $100.5 million of SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans at a rate of 1.00%. Cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreased 36 basis points when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively The decrease in cost of interest-bearing liabilities was offset by growth in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities of $349.3 million, most notably due to an increase in NOW deposits of $296.2 million, an increase in average savings and money market deposits of $48.7 million, and an increase in borrowings of $6.2 million when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The interest rate on borrowings increased 98 basis points when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019. The increase in interest rate on borrowings is due to the Company entering into Subordinated Note Purchase Agreements discussed within the borrowings section below. Yields on interest-earning assets and costs of interest bearing liabilities continue to decline as a result of the low interest rate environment brought on by Federal Reserve Board interest rate decreases during fiscal 2020.
• Net interest rate spread and margin both decreased when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019. Net interest rate spread decreased 41 basis points to 2.72% as compared to 3.13% when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Net interest margin decreased 47 basis points to 2.79% for the three months ended September 30, 2020 as compared to 3.26% for the three months ended September 30, 2019. Decreases in net interest rate spread and margin resulted primarily from lower yields on loans and securities as a result of the low interest rate environment, partially offset by growth in average loans and securities balances.
• Net interest income on a taxable-equivalent basis includes the additional amount of interest income that would have been earned if the Company’s investment in tax-exempt securities and loans had been subject to federal and New York State income taxes yielding the same after-tax income. Tax-equivalent net interest margin was 2.98% and 3.44% for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Asset Quality and Loan Loss Provision

• Provision for loan losses amounted to $1.2 million and $551,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The increase in provision for loan loss was due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as growth in gross loans and an increase in loans adversely classified. During fiscal 2020, the Company instituted a loan deferment program whereby short-term (3-6 months) deferral of principal and/or interest payments had been provided. At September 30, 2020, the Company still had $67.4 million or 201 loans on payment deferral as a result of the pandemic, which is down from $193.5 million or 706 loans at June 30, 2020. Management continues to monitor these loans, however, it remains uncertain that all of these loans will continue to perform as agreed once they reach the end of the deferral period. As a result, the Company increased the provision for loan loss for the three months ended September 30, 2020. Loans classified as substandard or special mention totaled $38.9 million at September 30, 2020, compared to $32.8 million at June 30, 2020, an increase of $6.1 million. The increase in classified loans is due to a deterioration of borrowers’ cash flow in their most recent financial statements. These loans are performing as of September 30, 2020. Reserves on loans classified as substandard or special mention totaled $3.9 million at September 30, 2020 compared to $2.4 million at June 30, 2020, an increase of $1.5 million which is attributable to the increase in classified loans. No loans were classified as doubtful or loss at September 30, 2020 or June 30, 2020. Allowance for loan losses to total loans receivable was 1.68% at September 30, 2020, and 1.62% at June 30, 2020. Total loans receivable included $100.5 million and $99.8 million of SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans at September 30, 2020 and June 30, 2020, respectively. Excluding these SBA guaranteed loans, the allowance for loan losses to total loans receivable would have been 1.85% and 1.80% at September 30, 2020 and June 30, 2020, respectively.
• Net charge-offs amounted to $38,000 and $307,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, a decrease of $269,000. The decrease in charge-off activity was primarily within the consumer and commercial loan portfolios.
• Nonperforming loans amounted to $4.3 million and $4.1 million at September 30, 2020 and June 30, 2020, respectively. At September 30, 2020 and June 30, 2020, respectively, nonperforming assets were 0.24% of total assets. Nonperforming loans were 0.42% and 0.41% of net loans at September 30, 2020 and June 30, 2020, respectively. At September 30, 2019, nonperforming assets to total assets were 0.27% and nonperforming loans to net loans were 0.44%.

Noninterest Income and Noninterest Expense

• Noninterest income decreased $188,000, or 8.3%, and totaled $2.1 million and $2.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The decrease was primarily due to decreases in service charges on deposit accounts offset by an increase in debit card fees resulting from continued growth in the number of checking accounts with debit cards.
• Noninterest expense increased $711,000 or 11.1%, to $7.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 as compared to $6.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019. The increases during the three months ended September 30, 2020 were primarily due to an increase in salaries and employee benefits expenses resulting from additional staffing for a new branch located in Albany, New York, which opened in September 2020 and increases in FDIC insurance premiums. The lower FDIC insurance premiums for the three months ended September 30, 2019, was a result of a credit received totaling $108,000.

Income Taxes

• Provision for income taxes directly reflects the expected tax associated with the pre-tax income generated for the given year and certain regulatory requirements. The effective tax rate was 11.7% for the three months ended September 30, 2020, compared to 16.1% for the three months ended September 30, 2019. The statutory tax rate is impacted by the benefits derived from tax exempt bond and loan income, the Company’s real estate investment trust subsidiary income, as well as the tax benefits derived from premiums paid to the Company’s pooled captive insurance subsidiary to arrive at the effective tax rate.

Balance Sheet Summary

• Total assets of the Company were $1.8 billion at September 30, 2020 and $1.7 billion at June 30, 2020, an increase of $122.3 million, or 7.3%.
• Securities available-for-sale and held-to-maturity increased $49.4 million, or 8.1%, to $659.8 million at September 30, 2020 as compared to $610.4 million at June 30, 2020. This increase was the result of an increase in municipal deposits and the need to collateralize the uninsured portion of these deposits. Securities purchases totaled $132.7 million during the three months ended September 30, 2020 and consisted of $93.8 million of state and political subdivision securities and $34.1 million of mortgage-backed securities, $2.5 million of corporate securities, and $2.3 million of other securities. Principal pay-downs and maturities during the three months amounted to $82.4 million, primarily consisting of $14.7 million of mortgage-backed securities, $65.3 million of state and political subdivision securities, and $1.3 million of other securities.
• Net loans receivable increased $35.3 million, or 3.5%, to $1.0 billion at September 30, 2020 from $993.5 million at June 30, 2020. Of the $1.0 billion in net loans receivable at September 30, 2020, $100.5 million were SBA Paycheck Protection Program loans. The loan growth experienced during the three months consisted primarily of $34.2 million in commercial real estate loans and $10.2 million in residential real estate loans. This growth was partially offset by a $2.1 million decrease in residential construction and land loans, $3.7 million decrease in commercial construction loans, $1.4 million decrease in home equity loans and $1.2 million increase in allowance for loan losses.
• Deposits totaled $1.6 billion at September 30, 2020 and $1.5 billion at June 30, 2020, an increase of $117.9 million, or 7.9%. Noninterest-bearing deposits increased $17.5 million, or 12.7%, NOW deposits increased $103.0 million, or 10.8%, and savings deposits increased $2.2 million, or 0.9%, when comparing September 30, 2020 and June 30, 2020. These increases were offset by a decrease in money market deposits of $4.3 million, or 3.2%, and a decrease in certificates of deposits of $442,000, or 1.2%, when comparing September 30, 2020 and June 30, 2020. Typically deposits increase during the first quarter of the Company’s fiscal year as a result of an increase in municipal deposits at Greene County Commercial Bank, primarily from tax collection, and new account relationships.
• Borrowings for the Company amounted to $25.7 million at September 30, 2020 compared to $25.5 million at June 30, 2020, an increase of $249,000. At September 30, 2020, borrowing consisted of $6.1 million in term advances with the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (“FHLB”), and $19.6 million of Fixed-to-Floating Rate Subordinated Notes. During the three months ended September 30, 2020, the Company repaid $10.9 million of Paycheck Protection Plan Lending Facility “(PPPLF”) proceeds, $7.0 million of short-term borrowings with Atlantic Central Bankers Bank and $1.5 million of term debt with the FHLB. The Company entered into Subordinated Note Purchase Agreements on September 17, 2020, issued at 4.75% Fixed-to-Floating Rate due September 15, 2030, in the aggregate principal amount of $20.0 million. These notes are callable on September 15, 2025.
• Shareholders’ equity increased to $133.0 million at September 30, 2020 from $128.8 million at June 30, 2020, resulting primarily from net income of $4.9 million, partially offset by dividends declared and paid of $468,000 and an increase in other accumulated comprehensive loss of $190,000.

Greene County Bancorp, Inc. is the direct and indirect holding company, respectively, for the Bank of Greene County, a federally chartered savings bank, and Greene County Commercial Bank, a New York-chartered commercial bank, both headquartered in Catskill, New York. Our primary market area is the Hudson Valley in New York State. For more information on Greene County Bancorp, Inc., visit www.tbogc.com.