While early results suggested banks would see steep declines in first quarter earnings, Century Bank yesterday reported a 2.6 percent increase in net income compared to the first quarter of last year.

Century Bank had net income of $9.66 million for the quarter ending March 31, or $1.74 per diluted share. For the same time period last year, the bank had net income of $9.42 million, or $1.69 per diluted share.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Century Bank’s net income was $10.73 million, or $1.93 per diluted share.

Total assets increased in the first quarter by 1.3 percent, from $5.49 billion on Dec. 31 to $5.56 billion on March 31.

Prepayment penalties helped drive an increase in net interest income. The bank’s net interest income totaled $25.2 million for the quarter ending March 31 compared to $23.4 million for the same period in 2019. Along with average earning assets, the 7.5 percent increase in net interest income was also attributed to prepayment penalties collected, which totaled approximately $874,000 for the first quarter of 2020 compared to $12,000 for the same period last year.

Like other banks, Century increased its provision for loan losses due to the economic uncertainties associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Century increased its provision for loan losses by $700,000, from $375,000 for the quarter first quarter last year to $1,075,000 in the first quarter 2020.

Century Bank has also decided to delay implementing the new current expected credit losses (CECL) methodology as allowed under the CARES Act.

Some banks, including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, have seen quarterly  earnings and profits drop precipitously due to the coronavirus pandemic.