PremierWest Bancorp in Medford, Ore., said Thursday that it earned $3.8 million in the second quarter, up 17.5% from the year-earlier period. Diluted earnings per share rose 22%, to 22 cents.
The $985 million-asset company attributed the earnings gains to improved credit quality and strong loan growth in its markets along the Interstate 5 corridor, between Sacramento, Calif., and Eugene, Ore.
It said that three loans it had classified as nonperforming in the first quarter were paid off in the second quarter. As a result, nonperforming loans totaled $817,000, or 0.09% of gross loans, down from $2.2 million in the previous quarter, or 0.26% of gross loans.
PremierWest reported net loans of $858 million at June 30, up nearly 14% from a year earlier. It said that net interest income rose 21.6%, to $13.6 million, and that its net interest margin - among the best in the industry in the first quarter - rose another 45 basis points, to 6.34%.
It opened two branches in the second quarter, in Shady Cove and Ashland, Ore.
