CONTACT: Mark W. Jaindl, President and Chief Executive Officer
Allentown, PA, April 22, 2002
American Bank Incorporated (NasdaqSC: AMBK), the parent company of American Bank, today announced record earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2002. Net income for the quarter was $589,000 or $.10 per share, an increase of $329,000 or 127%, from the same period in the prior year.
The increase in earnings is primarily attributable to an increase of $90.1 million of earning assets and an increase of 10 basis points in the net interest margin compared to March 31, 2001. In addition, earnings were positively impacted by the Company’s ability to control costs as evidenced by the decline in its operating expense to asset ratio from 1.83% for the quarter ended March 31, 2001 to 1.36% for the same period in 2002.
President and CEO Mark Jaindl stated, “We are pleased with the level of earnings growth from the first quarter of the prior year, but recognize that the rate of growth may slow in an increasing rate environment, which we have experienced in the last two months and expect to continue throughout the year.”
Jaindl continued, “While the quality of our loan portfolio remained high with no non-performing assets at March 31, 2002, American Bank did restructure one credit that was classified as non-performing during the quarter. Prior to restructuring this credit, American Bank had established specific reserves to cover any potential loss.” During the quarter, American Bank recorded a provision for loan losses of $139,000.
Chairman of the Board of Directors Frederick Jaindl stated, “This has been an exciting quarter for American Bank. In addition to our record earnings, we completed an offering of $10.2 million of convertible trust preferred securities, issued a 3-for-2 stock split to our shareholders and were listed on the NASDAQ SmallCap market.”
American Bank Incorporated common stock last traded at $9.25 per share and the American Bank Incorporated warrants last traded at $2.70 per warrant. The warrants are exercisable at $6.67 per warrant through June 30, 2003.
About American Bank
American Bank is a locally-owned community bank based in Allentown, PA. American Bank is recognized as a 5-Star Superior rated financial institution (the highest rating possible) by Bauer Financial Inc., designating it as one of the strongest banks in the nation as well as being named one of the safest banks in the nation by MSN Money. American Bank was ranked #1 by the Morning Call’s Top Workplaces in the Lehigh Valley and has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania.
American Bank offers a complete selection of banking products and services to suit the needs of consumers and businesses and includes checking, money market, savings, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans and Visa credit cards. Dedicated to providing customers superior, personalized customer service, American Bank also offers some of the best loan and deposit rates available and as a result, for the past 12 years, has received the Bankrate.com® Top Tier award for consistently offering annual percentage yields (APYs) that were among the highest reported. Their online banking service, AmericanBank Online, which is accessible from the Bank’s website at AMBK.com, allows customers to bank conveniently and delivers a full range of real-time online banking services free of charge including online bill payment and presentment, ACH Direct, transfers between accounts, transaction history, check images and e-Statements. In addition, both consumer and business customers can bank on the go using mobile banking which includes mobile deposit. American Bank is FDIC insured and is an Equal Housing Lender.
AmericanBank Online is a registered trade mark for the Internet financial services provided by American Bank, a state-chartered, FDIC-insured, full-service financial institution serving customers throughout the United States. American Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve System.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Statements in this press release regarding American Bank's business which are not historical facts, including expectations regarding future financial results, are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements.