Access National Corporation (NASDAQ: ANCX) (the “Corporation” or “Access”), parent company for Access National Bank (the “Bank”) and Middleburg Investment Group, reported first quarter 2018 net income of $8.1 million, or $0.39 per diluted share. This represents the Corporation’s 71st consecutive quarterly profit over its 73 quarter history. Consistent with management’s stated objective of a 40% dividend payout ratio against baseline earnings, the Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.15 per share for common shareholders of record as of May 10, 2018 and payable on May 25, 2018.

Highlights

• First quarter net income of $8.1 million or $0.39 per diluted share;
• Tangible book value1 per common share was $11.65 at March 31, 2018, an increase of $0.13 from the linked quarter;
• Loans held for investment were $1.92 billion at March 31, 2018 compared to $1.07 billion at March 31, 2017, a year-over-year increase of 79.4%; and
• Non-interest bearing demand deposits of $706.1 million were 32.1% of total deposits at March 31, 2018 compared to $376.7 million at March 31, 2017, a year-over-year increase of 87.5%.

The period ended March 31, 2018 represented the first quarter of operations free of material merger and integration costs related to the acquisition of Middleburg Financial Corporation. According to Access CEO Michael Clarke, “We are encouraged by our earnings in this first quarter of 2018 but have room for improvement. The earnings are directionally consistent with the metric upon which the acquisition was structured. However, we are disappointed in the lack of growth in total loans and deposits on a linked quarter basis. We attribute the lack of growth to seasonal factors. We are confident in executing our strategy and ability to deliver against our stated strategic financial targets.

Total deposits dropped $37.2 million or 1.7% from December 31, 2017 to March 31, 2018; however, demand deposits, savings and money market accounts grew $12.3 million. Strength and focus on core deposits are evidenced by the steady 55.0% contribution of demand deposits to total deposits.

Comparing March 31, 2018 figures to the linked quarter, total loans held for investment declined $54.0 million. Seasonal reductions of $37.6 million in revolving commercial lines of credit as well as reductions in commercial mortgage loans totaling $21.7 million account for the decrease. The reductions in these loan balances did not reflect the loss of any valued, targeted relationships.”

Mr. Clarke concluded, “The hard work of conversion is behind us. The focus now is on expanding the existing valued client relationships and acquiring new targeted clients on an accelerated basis. Continued execution of our plan should translate into improved operating efficiencies and improved relative performance that builds shareholder value.”

First quarter 2018 pre-tax earnings were $9.9 million, up from the $9.0 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2017. The commercial banking segment’s net interest income declined $728 thousand from the linked quarter, from $23.7 million to $23.0 million, due mainly to the decrease in average balances of loans held for investment coupled with the decrease in yield on earnings assets. During the fourth quarter of 2017, management planned for and made a strategic sale and disposition of $25.7 million in loans. The commercial banking segment’s other expense reflected a decrease of $1.5 million when compared to the prior quarter as fourth quarter 2017 included a pre-tax impairment charge of $3.1 million.

The net interest margin on a fully tax equivalent (non-GAAP) basis decreased to 3.70% from 3.83% when comparing first quarter 2018 to fourth quarter 2017. The decrease in net interest margin was due to a $451 thousand decrease in the recognized credit mark accretion, from $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 to $774 thousand in the first quarter of 2018 (a 7 basis point decrease), as well as to the decrease in the federal tax rate, from 35% in fourth quarter 2017 to 21% in the first quarter 2018, which reduced fully tax equivalent income by $324 thousand in the first quarter of 2018 (a 5 basis point decrease).

Total deposits at March 31, 2018 were $2.20 billion, down slightly from the $2.23 billion at December 31, 2017. While noninterest-bearing deposits saw a $38.8 million decrease from the linked quarter to $706.1 million, noninterest-bearing deposits remain the largest and most attractive source of funding for the Corporation, comprising 32.1% of the deposit portfolio. Interest-bearing deposits remained consistent between the first quarter of 2018 and the linked quarter. The Corporation continues to replace its brokered deposits with high value demand deposit relationships as evidenced by the $27.8 million decrease in brokered deposits, from $51.0 million at December 31, 2017 to $23.2 million at March 31, 2018. The go-forward strategy places a high priority on the maintenance and expansion of core deposits.

Non-performing assets (“NPAs”) increased to $7.5 million at March 31, 2018 from $5.3 million at December 31, 2017, representing 0.26% and 0.18% of total assets, respectively. Included in the NPA total is $643 thousand in other real estate owned. The allowance for loan loss was $15.9 million and $15.8 million at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, and represented 0.83% and 0.80% of total loans held for investment, respectively. The remaining credit and fair value marks on the loans acquired in the merger totaled $12.2 million at March 31, 2018.

Tangible book value2 per common share increased to $11.65 at March 31, 2018 from $11.52 at December 31, 2017. The tangible common equity ratio for Access National Corporation and its subsidiary bank was 9.10% at March 31, 2018, within the Corporation’s target range of 8.50% to 9.50%.

Access National Corporation is the parent company of Access National Bank and Middleburg Investment Group serving Northern and Central Virginia. Additional information is available on our website at www.AccessNationalBank.com. Shares of Access National Corporation are traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "ANCX".

Forward-Looking Statements

The information presented herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding expectations or predictions of future financial or business performance or conditions. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "may," "could," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "forecast," "intend," "plan," "prospects," "estimate," "potential," or by variations of such words or by similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties which change over time. Forward-looking statements in this report may include, but are not limited to, statements about projected impacts of and financial results generated by the merger of Access and Middleburg Financial Corporation (“Middleburg”). Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and Access assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

In addition to factors previously disclosed in Access's reports filed with the SEC and those identified elsewhere in this release, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements and historical performance: changes in asset quality and credit risk; changes in interest rates and capital markets; the introduction, timing and success of business initiatives; competitive conditions; and the inability to recognize cost savings or revenues or to implement integration plans associated with the merger of Access and Middleburg.

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1 Non-GAAP financial information. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” at end of release.
2 Non-GAAP financial information. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” at end of release.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures - Unaudited

The press release contains certain financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting policies in the United States (GAAP). These non-GAAP financial measures are “tangible book value per common shares”, “tangible common equity ratio”, and “net interest margin on a fully tax equivalent basis.” This non-GAAP disclosure has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Corporation’s results as reported under GAAP, nor is it necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. Management uses these non-GAAP measures in its analysis of our performance because it believes these measures are material and will be used as a measure of our performance by investors.

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