Business
Columbia Banking System Announces First Quarter 2020 Results and Quarterly Cash Dividend
TACOMA, Wash., April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Clint Stein, President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Banking System, Inc. and Columbia Bank (NASDAQ:
About this update from Columbia Banking System, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"TACOMA, Wash., April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Clint Stein, President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Banking System, Inc. and Columbia Bank (NASDAQ: COLB) (\"Columbia\"), said today upon the release of Columbia's first quarter 2020 earnings, \"COVID-19 had a profound impact on the final weeks of the first quarter and drove a material increase in our allowance for credit losses. We focused on initiatives intended to improve our operating leverage and their positive impact is reflected in our financial results.\" Mr. Stein continued, \"We experienced strong loan and deposit growth during the quarter with several lines of business experiencing record first quarter performance. In addition, we focused on efficiency initiatives that significantly lowered our expense ratios.\"\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nBalance Sheet\nTotal assets at March 31, 2020 were $14.04 billion, a decrease of $41.0 million from the linked quarter. Loans were $8.93 billion, up $189.9 million from December 31, 2019 as a result of loan originations of $330.7 million and increased line utilization partially offset by payments. Securities available for sale were $3.55 billion at March 31, 2020, a decrease of $193.0 million from $3.75 billion at December 31, 2019. Total deposits at March 31, 2020 were $10.81 billion, an increase of $128.0 million from December 31, 2019 principally due to an increase of $104.6 million in public funds, excluding certificates of deposit. Deposit mix remained fairly consistent from December 31, 2019 with 49% noninterest-bearing and 51% interest-bearing. The average cost of total deposits for the quarter was 14 basis points, a decrease of 7 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2019. For additional information regarding this calculation, see the \"Net Interest Margin\" section.\nChris Merrywell, Columbia's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, stated, \"The first quarter proved to be a positive quarter for loan growth driven by production and seasonal line utilization. Our bankers were on track for record first quarter loan production through the first two months, even though the first quarter is historically the weakest quarter of the year. Our teams did an excellent job of pivoting and adapting to our clients' needs as our new reality set in during the last month of the quarter. The decrease in interest rates he...