Another record quarter for F&M

In the face of economic challenges brought on by the drawn-out COVID-19 pandemic, It was another record quarter for Lodibased Farmers & Merchants Bank.

On Monday, the bank announced record third-quarter and year-to-date net income. For the quarter ending Sept. 30, F&M reported net income of $14.8 million, or $18.66 per share, a 7.8% increase from net income of $13.7 million earned in the third quarter of 2019.

Additionally, the company’s net income over the trailing 12 months was $57.9 million ($73.03 per share as reported), as compared to $54.4 million for the same period in the prior year.

Net interest income for the quarter was $37.7 million, up 6.9% from the same quarter in 2019.

Total assets at quarterend were $4.3 billion, up 20.52% from the third quarter of 2019. Total loans and leases outstanding reached $3.1 billion, an annual increase of 18.9%, and total deposits of $3.8 billion increased 21.5% from a year ago.

A portion of this balance sheet growth was due to F&M’s participation in the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program under which the bank funded over $347 million of loans. At quarter-end, total checking deposits represented 56.4% of total deposits compared to 53.0% at Sept. 30, 2019.

The bank’s credit quality remained strong with only $498,000 of non-performing loans and leases. Of the $276.9 million of loans F&M restructured under the CARES Act guidelines, only $24.1 million has not yet returned to payment status, whether interest-only or full principal and interest.

For the nine-month period ending Sept. 30, net income was $43.2 million, up 4.47% from the prior year, and earnings per weighted average share of common stock outstanding grew to $54.49, compared to $52.64 per share in 2019.

“We are pleased that the company’s earnings growth has continued through the first nine months of 2020 despite significant headwinds from both a continuing low interest rate environment and the COVID-19 pandemic,” F&M Chairman, President and CEO Kent Steinwert said. “Net income was up 4.47% over the same period in the prior year. We are working hard to protect our margins in what is a very difficult pricing environment. However, we realize that the real challenges may still lie ahead as our industry and the country deal with the health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”