For the quarter ended March 31, 2009 net interest income before provision for loan losses totaled $4.7m, a decline of $327,000 or 7% from the $5m earned during the first quarter of 2008. Net interest margin declined 33 basis points from 4.96% for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 to 4.63% for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.
Douglas Biddle, president and CEO, said: We took the step to suspend our semi-annual cash dividend for the first half of 2009 as we believe that cash dividends should be paid from current earnings. While disappointing, we felt that this was a prudent action during this economic downturn.
Our capital ratios continue to exceed regulatory guidelines for well-capitalized institutions. In addition, we significantly strengthened our capital position during January of 2009 when we chose to participate in the government’s Capital Purchase Program resulting in an increase in our capital of $11.9m.
