AMESBURY, Mass., Oct. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Provident Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) PVBC, the holding company for BankProv (the “Bank”), reported net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 of $716,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $3.3 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and net income of $2.5 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net income was $2.4 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to $8.0 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The Company’s return on average assets was 0.18% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to a loss on average assets of 0.85% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and a return on average assets of 0.57% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Company’s return on average assets was 0.20%, compared to 0.64% for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The Company’s return on average equity was 1.27% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to a loss on average equity of 5.80% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and a return on average equity of 4.55% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Company’s return on average equity was 1.41%, compared to 5.02% for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

In announcing these results, Joseph Reilly, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased to report net income for the quarter as we continue to execute our strategic plan. These results once again include an increase to a valuation adjustment on a loan relationship in our enterprise value portfolio, which somewhat overshadows positive momentum in the general achievement of our strategic objectives. We are excited that our exhaustive efforts to strengthen our retail deposit base are yielding positive results, with consistent increases in our branch activity and balances since the prior quarter and throughout 2024. These results are enabling us to run off high-cost third-party deposits, strengthen our liquidity position and optimize the benefit from the late-September interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve, which should serve to highlight the importance of these efforts and result in meaningful reductions in our cost of funds.”

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, net interest and dividend income was $12.4 million, an increase of $456,000, or 3.8%, from the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and a decrease of $1.5 million, or 10.6%, compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The interest rate spread and net interest margin were 2.19% and 3.38%, respectively, for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to 2.10% and 3.27%, respectively, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and 2.35% and 3.44%, respectively, for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net interest and dividend income was $36.8 million, a decrease of $7.8 million, or 17.4%, compared to $44.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The interest rate spread and net interest margin were 2.19% and 3.34%, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to 2.74%, and 3.80%, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. 

Total interest and dividend income was $22.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, an increase of $557,000, or 2.5%, from the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and a decrease of $799,000, or 3.4%, from the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The Company’s yield on interest-earning assets was 6.11% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, an increase of 12 basis points from the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and an increase of 35 basis points from the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, total interest and dividend income was $66.3 million, a decrease of $395,000, or 0.6%, from the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The Company’s yield on interest-earning assets was 6.02% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, an increase of 33 basis points from the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

Total interest expense was $10.0 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, an increase of $101,000, or 1.0%, from the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and an increase of $680,000, or 7.3%, from the quarter ended September 30, 2023. Interest expense on deposits was $9.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, a decrease of $539,000, or 5.6%, from the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and a decrease of $45,000, or 0.5%, from the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The decrease in interest expense on deposits from the prior quarter was primarily driven by a decrease in the average balance of interest-bearing deposits of $47.1 million, or 4.7%, and a four-basis point decrease in the cost of interest-bearing deposits to 3.83%. The decrease in interest expense on deposits from the prior year quarter was primarily driven by a decrease in the average balance of interest-bearing deposits of $124.5 million, or 11.6%, partially offset by a 42-basis point increase in the average cost of interest-bearing deposits. Interest expense on borrowings totaled $952,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, an increase of $640,000, or 205.1%, from the prior quarter, and an increase of $725,000, or 319.4%, over the prior year quarter. The increase in interest expense on borrowings from the prior quarter and the prior year quarter was primarily driven by an increase in the average balance of borrowings and an increase in the cost of borrowings. The average balance of borrowings increased $49.3 million, or 181.9%, from the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and $51.7 million, or 209.8%, from the quarter ended September 30, 2023.  The cost of borrowings was 4.99% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, an increase of 38 basis points from the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and an increase of 130 basis points from the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The Company’s total cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 3.92% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, which is an increase of three basis points, from 3.89%, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and an increase of 51 basis points from 3.41% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Total interest expense increased $7.4 million, or 33.3%, to $29.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $22.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Interest expense on deposits was $28.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, an increase of $7.3 million, or 35.4%, from the nine months ended September 30, 2023. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in the average cost of interest-bearing deposits of 90 basis points, to 3.80%, and an increase in average interest-bearing deposits of $33.4 million, or 3.5%. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, interest expense on borrowings increased $32,000, or 2.2%, primarily due to an increase in the cost of borrowings of 75 basis points, to 4.69%, partially offset by a decrease in average total borrowings of $6.9 million, or 14.2%. The Company’s total cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 3.83% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, which is an increase of 88 basis points, from 2.95%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

The Company recognized a $1.7 million provision for credit losses for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $6.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and a $156,000 credit loss benefit recognized for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The provision for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 was primarily driven by an additional $1.7 million reserve on a $17.6 million enterprise value relationship, which now carries a total of $8.8 million in individually analyzed reserves. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Company recognized a $2.6 million provision for credit losses, compared to $556,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, due to an $8.8 million individually analyzed reserve in the enterprise value portfolio that was partially offset by the first quarter payoff of an enterprise value loan that resulted in the elimination of $1.1 million in related reserves, a settlement with a digital asset lending customer which resulted in a $3.8 million reduction in related reserves and the elimination of that portfolio and reductions in the general allowance due primarily to decreases in the enterprise value and commercial segments, which each carry a higher reserve rate than other lending segments. 

Net charge-offs totaled $84,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $2.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and net recoveries of $147,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net charge-offs totaled $2.2 million, compared to $3.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Charge-offs for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 were primarily related to the aforementioned settlement with a digital asset lending customer. 

Non-accrual loans were $37.2 million, or 2.25% of total assets, as of September 30, 2024, compared to $21.3 million, or 1.29% of total assets, as of June 30, 2024 and $16.5 million, or 0.99% of total assets, as of December 31, 2023. The increase in non-accrual loans as of September 30, 2024 was primarily driven by a $16.2 million construction and land development loan relationship placed on non-accrual in the third quarter after the loan became delinquent and conversations with the borrower indicated their inability to meet current and future debt obligations.

Mr. Reilly noted “The Bank has evaluated the construction and land development loan relationship placed on non-accrual status in the third quarter. The Bank, due to the high collateral value of the project, is exploring options to work out or exit this relationship as efficiently as possible. We continue to closely monitor our portfolios to detect and address any weaknesses in specific relationships and mitigate the impact of troubled credits.”

Noninterest income was $1.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $1.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and $1.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, noninterest income decreased $827,000, or 15.3%, to $4.6 million, from $5.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

Noninterest expense was $11.6 million for the quarters ended September 30, 2024 and June 30, 2024, compared to $12.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The decrease in noninterest expense from the prior year quarter of $1.1 million, or 9.0%, was primarily due to a decrease in salaries and employee benefits of $509,000, or 6.5%, mainly resulting from a reduction in headcount; a decrease in other expenses of $301,000, or 36.0%, primarily due to a reduction in expenses related to the workout and closure of the digital asset portfolio; and a decrease in professional fees of $234,000, or 22.6%, primarily due to reductions in legal and consulting expenses. Noninterest expense was $35.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, a decrease of $2.8 million, or 7.2%, from $38.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 primarily due to decreases in salaries and employee benefits of $1.7 million, or 7.1%, other expenses of $533,000, or 22.4%, and insurance expenses of $446,000, or 33.0%.

Mr. Reilly noted “Our institution has concentrated efforts on improving our risk profile by redirecting our focus to traditional community banking. This endeavor presented an opportunity to comprehensively evaluate operating expenses to eliminate costs that no longer support our current strategy or risk appetite. While these efforts are ongoing, we have completed an evaluation to reduce our professional services, including legal and consulting costs, and carried out a workforce reduction of over five percent of our employee base during the quarter. While our employees will always be a top priority and the foundation of our core values, these unfortunate measures were required to ensure a responsible deployment of resources that closely aligns with current strategic objectives.” 

The Company recorded an income tax provision of $132,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to an income tax benefit of $1.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and a provision of $628,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Company recorded a provision for income tax of $571,000, reflecting an effective tax rate of 19.3%, compared to $2.8 million, or an effective tax rate of 25.6%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

Total assets were $1.65 billion at September 30, 2024, an increase of $1.4 million, or 0.1%, from $1.65 billion at June 30, 2024 and a decrease of $22.1 million, or 1.3%, from $1.67 billion at December 31, 2023. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $138.7 million at September 30, 2024, a decrease of $33.0 million, or 19.2%, from June 30, 2024 primarily due to an increase in net loans and a decrease in borrowings, offset by an increase in total deposits. Cash and cash equivalents decreased $81.7 million, or 37.1%, from December 31, 2023, primarily due to decreases in deposits and increases in net loans, partially offset by increases in borrowings. Net loans were $1.39 billion at September 30, 2024, an increase of $37.3 million, or 2.8%, from June 30, 2024 and $65.5 million, or 5.0%, from December 31, 2023. The increase in net loans over the prior quarter was primarily due to increases in commercial real estate loans of $38.6 million, or 7.6%, mortgage warehouse loans of $36.4 million, or 14.2%, and commercial loans of $25.8 million, or 17.8%, partially offset by decreases in enterprise value loans of $46.0 million, or 11.7%, and construction and land development loans of $15.7 million, or 27.6%. These changes reflect approximately $33.8 million of loans reclassified from the enterprise value portfolio to the commercial portfolio, following an internal review performed in the third quarter to identify loans in this segment that share the collateral and risk characteristics of a traditional commercial loan. These changes also reflect the reclassification of $20.3 million in construction and land development loans that converted to permanent commercial real estate loans during the quarter ended September 30, 2024. The increase in net loans for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was primarily due to increases in mortgage warehouse loans of $126.3 million, or 75.8%, and commercial real estate loans of $80.1 million, or 17.1%, partially offset by decreases in enterprise value loans of $85.5 million, or 19.7%, construction and land development loans of $36.5 million, or 46.8%, and a $12.3 million decrease resulting from the closure of the digital asset loan portfolio. These changes reflect $47.3 million in construction and land development loans that converted to permanent commercial real estate loans during the nine months ended September 30, 2024, as well as the reclassification of approximately $33.8 million in loans from the enterprise value to the commercial portfolio. The changing mix of the loan portfolio in all periods presented is illustrative of our current strategy to reduce exposure in our enterprise value lending portfolio in favor of more traditional commercial lending products. The allowance for credit losses on loans was $21.9 million, or 1.56% of total loans, as of September 30, 2024, compared to $20.3 million, or 1.49% of total loans, as of June 30, 2024, and $21.6 million, or 1.61% of total loans, as of December 31, 2023. The increase in the allowance for credit losses from June 30, 2024 of $1.6 million, or 7.8%, was primarily driven by a provision of $1.7 million, which was due to additional reserves on an individually analyzed loan relationship. The increase in the allowance for credit losses of $352,000, or 1.6%, from December 31, 2023, was primarily driven by an increase in reserves on individually analyzed loans offset by reductions in the general provision due primarily to decreases in the enterprise value and commercial segments, which each carry a higher rate of reserve than other segments of the portfolio.

Total deposits were $1.29 billion at September 30, 2024, an increase of $23.8 million, or 1.9%, from $1.26 billion at June 30, 2024, and a decrease of $42.7 million, or 3.2%, from $1.33 billion at December 31, 2023. The increase in deposits from June 30, 2024, was primarily driven by an increase in retail deposits of $59.5 million, or 8.1%, partially offset by a decrease in deposits obtained through listing services of $23.4 million, or 27.9%, and a decrease in brokered deposits of $20.1 million or, 10.8%. The decrease in deposits from December 31, 2023, was primarily driven by a decrease in deposits obtained through listing services of $76.6 million, or 56.0%, and a decrease in brokered deposits of $30.5 million, or 15.6%, partially offset by an increase in retail deposits of $52.5 million, or 7.1%. Total borrowings were $124.6 million at September 30, 2024, a decrease of $23.0 million, or 15.6%, from June 30, 2024 and an increase of $19.9 million, or 19.0%, from December 31, 2023.

As of September 30, 2024, shareholders’ equity totaled $226.2 million, an increase of $1.8 million, or 0.8%, from June 30, 2024, and an increase of $4.3 million, or 1.9%, from December 31, 2023. The increases include the Company’s net income, which totaled $716,000 and $2.4 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively. Shareholders’ equity to total assets was 13.7% at September 30, 2024, compared to 13.6% at June 30, 2024, and 13.3% at December 31, 2023. Book value per share was $12.76 at September 30, 2024, an increase from $12.70 at June 30, 2024, and $12.55 at December 31, 2023. Market value per share increased to $10.79 at September 30, 2024, an increase of 5.9% from $10.19 at June 30, 2024, and an increase of 7.2% from $10.07 at December 31, 2023. As of September 30, 2024, the Bank was categorized as well capitalized under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation regulatory framework for prompt corrective action.

Mr. Reilly concluded, “As we enter the final quarter of 2024, our primary focus remains an unwavering commitment to our employees, customers and stakeholders. I am always pleased to see the many ways our employees are fulfilling our core values while delivering trusted banking services to our customers. The relationships we have cultivated or strengthened by proactively engaging with the communities we serve have provided the natural pathway to efficiently achieve our strategic objectives.”

About Provident Bancorp, Inc.

Provident Bancorp, Inc. PVBC is the holding company for BankProv, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Massachusetts. With retail branches in the Seacoast Region of Northeastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as commercial banking offices in the Manchester/Concord market in Central New Hampshire, BankProv delivers a unique combination of traditional banking services and innovative financial solutions to its markets. Founded in Amesbury, Massachusetts in 1828, BankProv holds the honor of being the 10th oldest bank in the nation. The Bank insures 100% of deposits through a combination of insurance provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF). For more information, visit bankprov.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements, such as statements of the Company’s or the Bank’s plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as, “expects,” “subject,” “believe,” “will,” “intends,” “may,” “will be” or “would.” These statements are subject to change based on various important factors (some of which are beyond the Company’s or the Bank’s control), and actual results may differ materially. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements (which reflect management’s analysis of factors only as of the date on which they are given). These factors include: general economic conditions; interest rates; inflation; levels of unemployment; legislative, regulatory and accounting changes; monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank; deposit flows; our ability to access cost-effective funding; changes in liquidity, including the size and composition of our deposit portfolio and the percentage of uninsured deposits in the portfolio; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits; competition; our ability to successfully shift the balance sheet to that of a traditional community bank; real estate values in the market area; loan demand; the adequacy of our level and methodology for calculating our allowance for credit losses; changes in the quality of our loan and securities portfolios; the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans; an unexpected adverse financial, regulatory or bankruptcy event experienced by our cryptocurrency, digital asset or financial technology (“fintech”) customers; our ability to retain key employees; failures or breaches of our IT systems, including cyberattacks; the failure to maintain current technologies; the ability of the Company or the Bank to effectively manage its growth; global and national war and terrorism; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or any other pandemic on our operations and financial results and those of our customers; and results of regulatory examinations, among other factors. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. Readers should carefully review the risk factors described in other documents that the Company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

Investor contact:

Joseph Reilly
President and Chief Executive Officer
Provident Bancorp, Inc.
jreilly@bankprov.com