Georgetown Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Georgetown Savings Bank, said the charge-off of a single, large, out-of-market residential home equity loan was the primary drain on the bank’s operating results for the year.

The bank’s provision for loan losses shot to $949,000 to end 2011, after finishing the previous year at $188,000. The bank reported a fourth quarter profit of $415,000 compared to $467,000 in the same period a year ago. Profit for the year was $1 million, compared to $1.5 million in 2010.

"Asset quality trends stabilized during the three months ended Dec. 31 as we experienced improvement in delinquencies and classified assets from the Sept. 30 totals," said Robert Balletto, president and CEO. "Additionally, non-performing assets to total assets decreased to 1.59 percent at Dec. 31 from 1.76 percent at Sept. 30 and continue to remain below national averages. Operating results for the year ended Dec. 31 were negatively affected primarily by the charge-off of one, large, out-of-market, residential home equity loan. We believe this charge-off is not a reflection of a negative trend in our loan portfolio overall."

The bank boosted cash and equivalents to $19 million at the end of 2011 from $3.3 million a year prior. Non-interest income fell almost 24 percent, finishing the year at $990,000 compared to $1.3 million. The bank’s return on average assets was 0.51 percent for the year compared to 0.70 percent the prior year. Return on equity also fell to 5.14 percent from 7.92 percent.