| Loan growth, derivative income and deposit fees boosted Cambridge Bancorp’s bottom line in the first quarter this year.
The holding company for Cambridge Trust Co. posted net income totaling $3.9 million, up 3.9 percent from $3.7 million in the year-ago period.
Net interest income for the period ended March 31 increased 4.8 percent year-over-year to $13.1 million. The company said in a statement that that was driven largely by continued loan growth in the commercial sector. Total loans increased 11 percent year-over-year to $1.2 billion. Commercial mortgages increased $36.8 million, or 7.2 percent, while residential mortgages declined $13.1 million, or 2.4 percent, since year-end 2015. The company attributed that decline in residential lending to a decrease in overall production and to the bank’s sale of the majority of its production to the secondary market.
Noninterest income increased 4.8 percent year-over-year to $6.7 million. The company said that its subsidiary bank had earned $370,000 on interest rate swaps it began offering in the fourth quarter last year and that deposit account fees also increased $103,000, or 19 percent, from the same period a year ago.
Cambridge Bancorp also saw some net growth in its wealth management division, although it said that that growth was dampened somewhat by market volatility. Assets under management totaled $2.4 billion at March 31, compared with $2.3 billion at year-end 2015.
Nonperforming loans made up 0.12 percent of total loans as of March 31, remaining essentially flat from Dec. 31. The allowance for loan losses totaled $15.3 million, or 1.25 percent of total loans, compared with $15.2 million and 1.27 percent at year-end 2015. The company decreased its provision for loan losses by $250,000, compared with the first quarter of last year, in response to strong credit quality.
Total deposits, excluding brokered certificates, increased $177 million, or 12.8 percent, year-over-year to $1.6 billion.
Total assets increased 10 percent year-over-year to $1.8 billion.
