Carver Bancorp Inc. of New York said Thursday that earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter that ended March 31 jumped 23.5%, to $1.3 million. Earnings per share rose 22%, to 50 cents.
A balance-sheet repositioning several quarters earlier helped boost its net interest margin by 33 basis points, to 3.56%. But lower taxes accounted for the biggest profit boost.
Carver's overall tax expenses fell by $1.1 million from a year earlier.
The $736 million-asset company recorded income before taxes that fell 50.44% from a year earlier, to $793,000. The resultant income tax expense fell 60%, to $244,000. Carver also recorded $737,000 of tax credits under the Treasury Department's New Markets Tax Credit program for creating jobs in selected communities. This resulted in a net tax benefit of $493,000 for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Nonperforming assets jumped 60%, to $4.5 million. Carver said a group of loans to one borrower totaling $3.8 million was the reason.
