FVCBankcorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: FVCB) (the “Company”) today reported first quarter 2021 net income of $5.6 million, or $0.38 diluted earnings per share, compared to $3.7 million, or $0.26 diluted earnings per share, for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2020. Net revenues, which include net interest income plus noninterest income, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 were $14.8 million, an increase of $1.9 million, from $12.9 million for the year ago quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Annualized return on average assets was 1.19% and annualized return on average equity was 11.53% for the first quarter of 2021. For the comparable quarterly March 31, 2020 period, annualized return on average assets was 0.96% and annualized return on average equity was 8.29%.

First Quarter Selected Highlights

• Improved Credit Quality Metrics. During the first quarter of 2021, watchlist credits decreased $9.9 million, or 30%, to $22.8 million at March 31, 2021 from $32.7 million at December 31, 2020, a result of aggressive management of watchlist credits and loan payoffs. Nonperforming loans and loans past due 90 days or more and still accruing were 0.27% of total assets at March 31, 2021, compared to 0.31% at December 31, 2020.
• Increased Pre-Tax Pre-Provision Income. For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, pre-tax pre-provision income was $7.0 million and $5.7 million, respectively, an increase of $1.3 million or 22%. On a linked quarter basis, pre-tax pre-provision income was also $7.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020. Pre-tax pre-provision annualized return on average assets for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 were 1.49% and 1.47%, respectively. A reconciliation of pre-tax pre-provision income, a non-GAAP financial measure, can be found in the tables below.
• Strong Core Deposit Growth. Core deposits, which exclude wholesale deposits, increased $77.1 million, to $1.56 billion at March 31, 2021, or 21% annualized, from December 31, 2020. Noninterest-bearing deposits increased $102.8 million to $501.8 million at March 31, 2021, representing 31% of total deposits at March 31, 2021.
• Increased Net Interest Income. Net interest income increased $1.8 million to $14.0 million for the first quarter of 2021, compared to $12.2 million for the same 2020 period. Net interest margin was 3.22% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to 3.37% for the year ago quarter of 2020 and 3.28% for the fourth quarter of 2020.

“Our second consecutive record quarterly earnings demonstrate our ability to generate continued profitable growth, building long term value for our shareholders. Our business development efforts and commitment to our markets continue to drive new relationships, as evidenced by our deposit growth during the quarter. Our conservative credit culture has resulted in lower loan losses than initially anticipated at the start of the pandemic. As a more optimistic economic outlook provides momentum heading into the second quarter, along with a robust pipeline of loan originations, we are positioned for strong loan growth for the remainder of 2021,” stated David W. Pijor, Chairman and CEO.

Balance Sheet
Total assets increased to $1.88 billion at March 31, 2021 compared to $1.82 billion at December 31, 2020, an increase of $63.0 million, or 3%. Loans receivable, net of deferred fees, totaled $1.45 billion at March 31, 2021, compared to $1.47 billion at December 31, 2020, a decrease of $19.2 million, or 1%. Loans receivable, net of deferred fees, excluding loans originated through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), decreased $29.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2021. During the first quarter of 2021, loans that paid off prior to maturity totaled $44.5 million, of which, $9.5 million were watch list credits that either paid off or were sold at a discount during the quarter, $13.5 million were related to borrowers selling the underlying collateral, and the remaining loans paid off were primarily a result of refinancing and general business activity. In addition, seasonal commercial line activity decreased $7.2 million during the first quarter of 2021. Offsetting these decreases were loan originations totaling $31.2 million (excluding PPP), of which $24.7 million funded during the quarter.

PPP loans, net of fees, totaled $163.5 million at March 31, 2021, an increase from $153.0 million at December 31, 2020. Loans forgiven during the first quarter of 2021 totaled $49.3 million, or 28% of PPP loans originated during 2020. PPP loans originated during the first quarter of 2021 totaled $62.6 million and net deferred fees associated with originating these loans totaled $2.1 million.

Investment securities increased $9.0 million to $135.4 million at March 31, 2021, compared to $126.4 million at December 31, 2020. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company purchased $20.1 million in mortgage-backed securities to invest excess liquidity and improve net interest margin.

Total deposits increased to $1.59 billion at March 31, 2021 compared to $1.53 billion at December 31, 2020, an increase of $62.1 million, or 4%. Core deposits, which represent total deposits less wholesale deposits, increased $77.1 million, or 5%, to $1.56 billion at March 31, 2021 compared to $1.48 billion at December 31, 2020. Wholesale deposits totaled $35.0 million, or 2% of total deposits at March 31, 2021, a decrease of $15.0 million from December 31, 2020. Noninterest-bearing deposits increased $102.8 million to $501.8 million at March 31, 2021 from $399.1 million at December 31, 2020, and represented 31% of total deposits at March 31, 2021.

The Company’s bank subsidiary, FVCbank, remains well-capitalized at March 31, 2021 with a community bank leverage ratio of 11.65%.

Income Statement
Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was $5.6 million, an increase of $1.8 million, or 49%, compared to $3.7 million for the same period of 2020. On a linked quarter basis, net income increased $555 thousand, or 11%, from $5.0 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2020.

Net interest income totaled $14.0 million, an increase of $1.8 million, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to the year ago quarter, and decreased by $76 thousand, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. Interest expense on deposits decreased $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to the same period of 2020, and decreased $306 thousand compared to the three months ended December 31, 2020. All decreases were a result of continued targeted rate reductions and the repricing of the Company’s time deposits to lower interest rates upon renewal. Interest income includes loan mark accretion on acquired loans totaling $132 thousand, $335 thousand, and $163 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2021, December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2020, respectively. Lastly, net interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2021 benefited from PPP loan origination, which contributed $1.8 million to interest income, of which $927 thousand was related to recognition of net deferred fees on forgiven loans. This compares to interest income from PPP loans of $1.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, which included recognition of net deferred fees of $330 thousand. Remaining net deferred fees related to PPP originations totaled $3.1 million at March 31, 2021 and are being recognized in interest income over the remaining lives of the PPP loans, or sooner upon PPP loan forgiveness or repayment.

The Company’s net interest margin decreased 15 basis points to 3.22% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 compared to 3.37% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. On a linked quarter basis, net interest margin decreased 6 basis points from 3.28% for the three months ended December 31, 2020. Excess liquidity continues to compress net interest margin, decreasing margin by 23 basis points during the first quarter of 2021. The average yield on total loans for the first quarter of 2021 was 4.38%, compared to 4.36% for the linked quarter ended December 31, 2020, and 4.88% for the year ago quarter. Net deferred fees recognized from PPP loan forgiveness has contributed to the average yield of the loan portfolio, as the yield on PPP loans increased to 4.52% for the first quarter of 2021, compared to 2.95% for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020.

Cost of interest-bearing deposits for the first quarter of 2021 was 0.74%, compared to 1.72% for the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 98 basis points, or 57%, primarily as a result of the Company having aggressively decreased its deposit rates during 2020 to offset the repricing of its variable rate loan portfolio. The cost of deposits, which includes noninterest-bearing deposits, decreased 9 basis points to 0.51% for the first quarter of 2021 as compared to 0.60% for the fourth quarter of 2020, and decreased 79 basis points from 1.30% for the year ago quarter of 2020.

Noninterest income totaled $791 thousand and $693 thousand for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Fee income from loans was $20 thousand, a decrease of $376 thousand, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 compared to 2020, primarily a result of loan swap fee income recorded during 2020 compared to none during 2021. Service charges on deposit accounts and other fee income totaled $523 thousand for the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 42%, or $155 thousand, from the year ago quarter, primarily resulting from a one-time commission bonus earned on the Company’s long-standing investment in Bankers’ Insurance during the first quarter of 2021. Income from bank-owned life insurance decreased $35 thousand to $248 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to $283 thousand for the same period of 2020.

For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company recorded no gains or losses on sales of assets. However, during the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company recorded gains on sales of investment securities available-for-sale totaling $97 thousand and a loss on the loans held for sale portfolio of $451 thousand.

Noninterest expense totaled $7.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to $7.2 million for the same three-month period of 2020. On a linked quarter basis, noninterest expense was also $7.9 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. The increase in noninterest expense compared to the year ago quarter was primarily related to an increase in salaries and benefits expense of $520 thousand, which is primarily related to accruals for incentive compensation during the first quarter of 2021. In addition, data processing and network administration expenses increased $129 thousand to $563 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to $434 thousand for the year ago quarter as planned 2020 network infrastructure upgrades were implemented during the second quarter of 2020.

The efficiency ratio for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 was 53.1%, an improvement from 55.9% for the year ago quarter and unchanged from 53.1% for the three months ended December 31, 2020.

The Company recorded a provision for income taxes of $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to $896 thousand for the same period of 2020. The effective tax rates for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 were 19.9% and 19.4%, respectively. The effective tax rates for each of the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 are less than the Company’s combined federal and state statutory rate of 22.5% primarily because of discrete tax benefits recorded as a result of exercises of nonqualified stock options during 2021 and 2020.

Asset Quality
The Company recorded no provision for loan losses for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to $1.1 million for the year ago quarter, and $500 thousand for the fourth quarter of 2020. The Company is not required to implement the provisions of the current expected credit losses accounting standard until January 1, 2023, and is continuing to account for the allowance for loans losses under the incurred loss model. The decrease in the provision for loan losses for the three months ended March 31, 2021 is primarily related to a decrease in loans outstanding at March 31, 2021 and improvement in certain credit quality metrics during the first quarter of 2021, specifically, a reduction in the Company’s watchlist credits and the associated specific reserves for those loans.

The allowance for loan losses to total loans, excluding PPP loans, was 1.12% at March 31, 2021, compared to 1.14% at December 31, 2020. The effective reserve coverage, which includes both the allowance for loan losses and the remaining unaccreted fair value discount on acquired loans, to total loans, excluding PPP loans, was 1.25% at March 31, 2021 compared to 1.27% at December 31, 2020. Net charge-offs of $537 thousand recorded during the first quarter of 2021 were primarily related to two impaired loans the Company sold to mitigate the possibility of further losses.

Nonperforming loans and loans 90 days or more past due at March 31, 2021 totaled $5.0 million, or 0.27% of total assets. This compares to $5.6 million in nonperforming loans and loans 90 days or more past due at December 31, 2020, or 0.31% of total assets. All of the Company’s nonperforming loans are secured and have specific reserves totaling $1.4 million, representing the specific losses associated with those loans. The Company has one troubled debt restructuring at March 31, 2021 totaling $96 thousand which is a consumer residential loan. Nonperforming assets (including other real estate owned) to total assets was 0.47% at March 31, 2021 compared to 0.52% for December 31, 2020.

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact to Loan Portfolio
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company implemented loan payment deferral programs to allow customers who were required to close or reduce business operations to defer loan principal and interest payments primarily for 90 days. At March 31, 2021, remaining payment deferred loans totaled $10.0 million, or 0.69% of the total loan portfolio, comprising three loans. One loan is a hotel participation loan totaling $9.7 million; one loan is SBA guaranteed totaling $330 thousand; and one loan is a consumer unsecured loan totaling $61 thousand. Each of these loans are appropriately reserved for in the allowance for loan losses.

The Company is closely and proactively monitoring the effects of the pandemic on its loan and deposit customers and is focused on assessing risks within the loan portfolio and working with customers to minimize losses. The Company considers pandemic impacted loans to include commercial real estate loans to hotels, churches, and certain retail and special purpose asset classes. During its assessment of the allowance for loan losses, the Company addressed the credit risks associated with these pandemic impacted segments and those loan customers that have requested payment deferrals.

About FVCBankcorp, Inc.
FVCBankcorp, Inc. is the holding company for FVCbank, a wholly-owned subsidiary that commenced operations in November 2007. FVCbank is a $1.88 billion asset-sized Virginia-chartered community bank serving the banking needs of commercial businesses, nonprofit organizations, professional service entities, their owners and employees located in the greater Baltimore and Washington D.C., metropolitan areas. FVCbank is based in Fairfax, Virginia, and has 9 full-service offices in Arlington, Fairfax, Manassas, Reston and Springfield, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Baltimore, Bethesda, and Rockville, Maryland.

For more information on the Company’s selected financial information, please visit the Investor Relations page of FVCBankcorp, Inc.’s website, www.fvcbank.com.

Caution about Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited, statements of goals, intentions, and expectations as to future trends, plans, events or results of the Company’s operations and policies and regarding general economic conditions. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by use of words such as “may,” “will,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “plans,” “estimates,” “potential,” “continue,” “should,” and similar words or phrases. These statements are based upon current and anticipated economic conditions, nationally and in the Company’s market, interest rates and interest rate policy, competitive factors, and other conditions which by their nature, are not susceptible to accurate forecast and are subject to significant uncertainty. Because of these uncertainties and the assumptions on which this discussion and the forward-looking statements are based, actual future operations and results in the future may differ materially from those indicated herein. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs that involve significant risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, the risk factors and other cautionary language included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in other periodic and current reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because of these uncertainties and the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based, actual operations and results in the future may differ materially from those indicated herein. Readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. The Company’s past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance.

(2) Annualized.
(3) Efficiency ratio is calculated as noninterest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and noninterest income. On a non-GAAP operating basis, the Company excludes gains (losses) on sales of investment securities.
(4) Some of the financial measures discussed throughout the press release are "non-GAAP financial measures." In accordance with SEC rules, the Company classifies a financial measure as being a non-GAAP financial measure if that financial measure excludes or includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding or including amounts, that are included or excluded, as the case may be, in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP in our statements of income, balance sheets or statements of cash flows.

(1) Non-accrual loans are included in average balances.
(2) The average yields for investment securities are reported on a fully taxable-equivalent basis at a rate of 21%.
(3) The average balances for investment securities includes restricted stock.

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