Bank of Santa Clarita Reports Better Earnings in ’09

The Bank of Santa Clarita ended its fiscal year with a 10 percent increase in net earnings over the previous year. The Santa Clarita-based financial institution had net earnings of $609,000 for the period ending Dec. 31. The previous year the bank had earnings of $552,000. For the fourth quarter, the bank had net earnings of $262,000, or $0.12 per diluted share. That is a 25 percent drop from the net earnings of $351,000, or $0.16 per diluted share, for the same period in 2008. The institution ended the year with $173.3 million in total assets, an increase over the assets of $152.7 million in 2008. The bank’s net interest margin improved based on efforts to position it for the current interest rate environment, said President and CEO James Hicken. “The growth in both loans and deposits primarily reflects an expanding market opportunity and the benefit the Bank has in being the Santa Clarita Valley’s only locally headquartered commercial bank,” Hicken said. Thom Senzee