In a period of growth for most banks in Massachusetts, Admirals Bank continues to spiral downward.
The bank reported in a recent filing that it has lost more than $15 million through the first six months of 2017, more than $11 million of losses which came in the second quarter.
The bank is also trimming its workforce.
At the end of this quarter, the bank reported having a total of 88 full-time equivalent employees, 36 less than it had at the end of the first quarter.
Total assets, which were roughly $425 million as of March 31, shrunk to $328 million at the end of the second quarter.
Net interest income for the second quarter was $3.1 million, down from $4.5 million in the first quarter. For the six months of 2017, net interest income was roughly $7.6 million, down almost $2 million year-over-year. Total loans at the end of the second quarter decreased $7 million from the first quarter and roughly $73 million since this time last year.
Charge-offs in the second quarter increased by more than $500,000 from the first quarter. For the first six months of 2017, charge-offs were $400,000 higher than the first six months of 2016.
Admirals also reported $2.2 million in losses as a result of terminating its FastTrack Program, a loan program designed to primarily service underserved small- to medium-sized businesses and address a growing need in the commercial sector for affordable solar financing.
The financial struggles for Admirals come after a tumultuous first half of 2017 that saw the Boston-based bank deal with regulatory problems and the loss of a deal it had entered.
Last month, a group of banking executives that were planning to purchase assets from Admirals and spin off into a new bank called Bank & Trust Co. of Boston walked away from the deal.
“After careful deliberations and review, First Boston Holdings will not be acquiring Admirals Bank,” Joe Baerlein, spokesperson for Bank & Trust’s holding company First Boston Holdings, said in a statement at the time. “The senior management of First Boston Holdings will not be considering other strategic acquisitions. We wish Admirals Bank the very best in their future endeavors.”
That announcement came after the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a cease-and-desist order to Admirals Bank in April for an unknown reason.
The order on the website said that Admirals must establish objectives for the bank’s overall risk profile, liquidity, earnings performance, growth, balance sheet mix, off-balance sheet activities, liability structure and capital adequacy.
It also set new capital ratios and among other measures, required Admirals to take a number of risk management steps and create a conflict of interest policy.
Shortly after the deal to acquire Admirals’ assets was called off, The Boston Business Journal reported that Lazares was no longer CEO of the bank. His bio is no longer on the company’s website under the executive leadership team or senior leadership team.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Aug. 8, 2017, to correct Admirals Bank’s second quarter and 2017 year to date net interest income and total loan figures.
