First Niles Financial Reports Stronger First Quarter

NILES, Ohio – First Niles Financial Inc., the holding company for Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Niles, reported a net income of $51,000 for the first quarter of 2023.

Compared with the net loss of $4,000 in the same period of 2022, the net income amounted to an increase of $55,000.

Total assets as of March 31, 2023, were $144.6 million, compared with $133.9 million at the end of December 2022, an 8% increase.

Net loans receivable totaled $97.5 million for the first quarter, compared with $91 million at the end of 2022, a 7.2% increase. First quarter deposits were $81.3 million, or $2.2 million less than the end of 2022. Total borrowings were $48.1 million as of March 31, 2023, compared with $35.1 million at the end of December.

Total equity at the end of the first quarter was $13.2 million, or $19,000 more than the end of 2022. The company primarily attributes the increase in total equity to a $263,000 decrease in retained earnings and a $282,000 decrease in net unrealized gains on securities available for sale. At the end of March 2023, the company reports it had significantly exceeded all regulatory capital requirements.

In looking at the first quarter in depth, the return on average assets was 0.15%, compared with 0.01% for the same quarter a year prior. Primary earnings per share for the three months were $0.04, an increase of $0.04 from the same period in 2022.

Net interest income from the provision for loan losses for the first quarter of 2023 totaled $752,000, compared with $614,000 for the first quarter of 2022, or a 22.5% increase.

Total interest income was $1,446,000 for the first quarter of 2023, an increase of $585,000 from the first quarter of 2022. Interest expenses for the first quarter was $621,000, a $374,000 increase from the same period a year ago. The provision for loan losses for the quarter was $73,000, compared with $3,000 for the same quarter a year ago.

Non-interest income for the first quarter of 2023 was $696,000, as compared to $1,123,000 for the same period in 2022, which is a decrease of 38%. Non-interest expenses also decreased by 20.5%, dropping to $1,388,000, compared with $1,746,000 from the first quarter of 2022.

Nonperforming loans, which consist of both non-accruing loans and accruing loans delinquent more than 90 days, totaled $1 million, an increase of $897,000 from the end of 2022. Those current expected credit losses represent 100% of nonperforming loans and 1.1% of net loans receivable. On Dec. 31, 2022, the allowance for loan losses represented 451.3% of nonperforming loans and 0.7% of net loans receivable.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.