The overall increase in earnings of $90,000 is generally attributed to additional interest income on loans and investment securities at the bank level, as well as, gains on securities transactions at the holding company level. Pioneer Bankshares has reported that net interest income for the period has raised from $6.85 million to $6.54 for the comparable period a year ago.
Pioneer Bankshares’ total assets of the company increased to $151.8 million at December 31, 2007, compared to $151.6 million a year ago. Likewise total deposits increased to 127.6 million at December 31, 2007 from 124.7 million at December 31, 2006. The company’s loan portfolio grew by $6.8 million or 5.71% during 2007, and was primarily in the category of commercial real estate loans. The deposit portfolio grew by $2.6 million or 2.07% during the same period, with the majority of this growth being in demand deposit and savings accounts.
Interest bearing deposits in other banks decreased by $3.8 million or 70.27%, while total investment securities available for sale were reduced by $2.8 million or 20.40%. These reductions in assets were used as a source of funding to support the company’s loan growth and to reduce outstanding borrowings in accordance with original repayment schedules.
