Business
BayFirst Financial Corp. Reports Second Quarter 2022 Results; Highlighted by Strong SBA 7(a) and Conventional Loan Production, Improved Operating Efficiencies, and Net Interest Margin Expansion
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., July 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: BAFN) (“BayFirst” or the “Company”), parent company of BayFirst
About this update from Bayfirst Financial Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., July 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: BAFN) (“BayFirst” or the “Company”), parent company of BayFirst National Bank (f/k/a First Home Bank) (the “Bank”) reported earnings for the second quarter of 2022 of $328 thousand, or $0.03 per diluted common share compared to $13 thousand, or $(0.05) per diluted common share in the first quarter of 2022, and $13.0 million, or $2.98 per diluted common share, in the second quarter of 2021. Financial results for the second quarter of 2022 were highlighted by robust loan production in community banking, up 200% year to date over last year, as well as one of the best quarters of SBA 7(a) loan production in the Company’s history. The increase in earnings during the second quarter of 2022, compared to the first quarter of 2022, included a $2.5 million decrease in salaries and benefits, $2.9 million increase in SBA loan fair value gains, resulting primarily from election of the fair value option on $41.7 million of loans originated in the quarter, and a $1.0 million increase in net interest income. These were partially offset by a restructuring charge of $630 thousand related to the discontinuation of the direct-to-consumer mortgage business, a reduction in residential loan fee income of $3.0 million, and a $2.7 million increase in loan loss provision, as the Company made a modest provision of $250 thousand in the second quarter compared to a $2.4 million negative provision in the prior quarter. Compared to the year ago quarter, the decrease in net income for the second quarter of 2022 included the $13.8 million one-time gain on sale of PPP loans in 2021, a $6.0 million decrease in PPP origination fee income and a decrease of $13.1 million in residential loan fee income. These items were partially offset by a decrease in noninterest expense of $8.8 million. “The second quarter represented a dramatic turnaround quarter for the Company,” stated Anthony N. Leo, Chief Executive Officer. “We produced excellent core loan growth, improved operating expenses, and expanded our net interest margin by 48 basis points compared to the prior quarter. The investments we made to expand our nationwide SBA production team earlier in the year are paying off, with SBA 7(a) loan production of $90 million during the quarter. This production represents one of the highe...