Janet Garufis, president and chief executive officer of Montecito Bank & Trust, has announced the bank’s first-quarter performance.
Total assets grew 2.5 percent from $1.06 billion to $1.09 billion year over year. Total deposits grew 4.17 percent to $966.3 million from $927.6 million. Total gross loans grew 2.3 percent from $523.4 million to $535.4 million year over year. Net income for the quarter was $2.9 million, compared with $2.8 million from a year ago.
“We are pleased that Montecito Bank & Trust continues to grow its balance sheet and increase profitability, particularly in the current economic climate and the challenges all banks face in this sustained low interest rate environment,” Garufis said. “Total risk-based capital of 13.94 percent at quarter end is well above the 10 percent regulatory minimum required to be considered well-capitalized. Our strong capital base and liquidity allow Montecito Bank & Trust to meet the financing needs of local businesses and investors with loans for expansion, capital improvement and the purchase or refinance of real estate.”
Montecito Bank & Trust regularly tracks the annual financial performance metrics established by The Findley Reports, an independent service that rates all California banks.
“I am pleased to report that Montecito Bank & Trust has once again been designated as a 2013 Premier Performing Bank,” Garufis said. “The Findley Reports has designated Montecito Bank & Trust as a Premier Performing or Super Premier Performing bank 28 times in our 39-year history.
“Montecito Bank & Trust, now the oldest and largest locally owned community bank in the Tri-Counties, celebrated its 39th anniversary in March by continuing a tradition started over 20 years ago known as Anniversary Grants, where 10 local nonprofits are selected by the bank’s employees to receive $15,000 in grants. The Anniversary Grants program, combined with our Community Dividends and a multitude of sponsorships for local nonprofit events, are some of the ways Montecito Bank & Trust works to make the communities we serve better places to live and work. Accepting local deposits, funding loans to local businesses and reinvesting in the community is the value of community banking.”
Montecito Bank & Trust, an S Corporation, is a locally owned community bank founded in 1975, with branch offices located in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura and Westlake Village. The bank is the oldest locally owned community bank in the tri-counties offering a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and consumers, including business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate finance; SBA loans; consumer loans; credit cards; merchant services; and online services, including mobile banking and cash management. Its Wealth Management Division provides full investment management as well as trust services for all branch office markets.
— Carolyn Tulloh is the director of marketing for Montecito Bank & Trust.