Business
Banner Corporation Reports Net Income of $39.0 Million, or $1.10 Per Diluted Share, for Fourth Quarter 2020; Earns $115.9 Million, or $3.26 Per Diluted Share, in 2020; Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.41 Per Share
WALLA WALLA, Wash., Jan. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Banner Corporation (NASDAQ GSM: BANR) (“Banner”), the parent company of Banner Bank and Islanders Bank,
About this update from Banner Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"WALLA WALLA, Wash., Jan. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Banner Corporation (NASDAQ GSM: BANR) (“Banner”), the parent company of Banner Bank and Islanders Bank, today reported net income of $39.0 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter 2020, a 7% increase compared to $36.5 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, in the preceding quarter and a 16% increase compared to $33.7 million, or $0.95 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2019. Net income for 2020 was $115.9 million, or $3.26 per diluted share, compared to $146.3 million, or $4.18 per diluted share for 2019. Full year 2020 results include $64.3 million in provision for credit losses primarily resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to $10.0 million in provision for credit losses in 2019. The 2020 results also include $2.1 million of merger and acquisition-related expenses, compared to $7.5 million of merger and acquisition-related expenses for 2019. Banner also announced that its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.41 per share. The dividend will be payable February 16, 2021, to common shareholders of record on February 4, 2021. “The historic events of 2020 brought serious economic, health and personal challenges to everyone in our footprint and beyond, and our team of professional bankers rose to meet those challenges to support our clients and the communities we serve,” said Mark Grescovich, President and CEO. “Our core performance for the fourth quarter and for the year reflects the continued execution of our super community bank strategy. That strategy supports growing new client relationships, adding to our core funding position by growing core deposits, and promoting client loyalty and advocacy through our responsive service model.” “To provide support for our clients, we have made available several assistance programs,” continued Grescovich. “During the year, Banner committed $1.5 million to selected Community Development Financial Institutions in support of minority-owned small businesses as well as businesses located in economically disadvantaged rural and urban communities. Additionally, we funded SBA Paycheck Protection Program or PPP loans totaling nearly $1.15 billion to 9,103 businesses as of year-end, and we are actively participating in the latest SBA PPP loan program that opened in mid-January 2021...