First Defiance Financial has reported that its net income applicable to common shares for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009 was $2.91m, or $0.36 per diluted share, compared to $3.42m, or $0.47 per diluted share, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Net interest income was $16.04m for the first quarter of 2009, an 18% increase from $13.59m for the same quarter of 2008. Net interest margin declined five basis points to 3.71% for the first quarter of 2009 from 3.76% in the first quarter of 2008.

Total assets at March 31, 2009 were $2.01 billion, compared to $1.89 billion at March 31, 2008.

William Small, chairman, president and CEO of First Defiance Financial, said: The economic challenges of the country and our market area continue to be reflected in our quarterly results. We’ve historically taken great pride in our asset quality and our underwriting standards are sound. We are proactively working to identify all potential problems and mitigate our losses as much as possible.