National Mercantile Bancorp of Los Angeles said its first-quarter profit rose 40% from a year earlier on strong loan and deposit growth.
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The $480 million-asset company said Tuesday that its earnings of $1.3 million in the quarter were driven by demand for construction and commercial real estate loans. Loans over all rose 15%, to $354 million.
Deposits rose 24%, to $405 million, and the net interest margin rose 4 basis points, to 5.49%. Net interest income rose 20%, to $5.7 million, after a $32,000 provision for loan losses.
The company also said that expensing for stock options reduced earnings by $85,000 and accounted for a third of the quarter's 7% increase in total operating expenses, to $3.7 million.
