Wellesley Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Wellesley Bank, reported net income of $681,000 for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012, up $162,000, or 31 percent, from net income of $519,000 for the same period in 2011.
The bank completed its mutual-to-stock conversion and the company’s public offering on Jan. 25, 2012. Accordingly, the 2011 results reflect the bank on a consolidated basis and do not include the company, which was not an operating company during 2011.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, the company reported net income of $1.1 million, compared with net income of $2 million in 2011. The 2012 results reflect a one-time $1.8 million pre-tax contribution to the Wellesley Bank Charitable Foundation, formed in connection with the conversion.
Net interest income for the quarter increased 16.6 percent to $3.1 million, largely due to higher levels of interest income from growth in the bank’s loan portfolio, partially offset by higher interest expense as the bank increased its balances of Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances, which funded a portion of the bank’s loan growth.
Non-interest income for the quarter increased $251,000, or 167 percent, as gains on sales of loans increased $156,000 and wealth management fees increased $58,000, compared with 2011. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, net income declined $906,000 from the year before, reflecting the one-time $1.1 million after-tax contribution to the foundation. Exclusive of that contribution, pre-tax earnings were $3.4 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, an increase of 8.9 percent, compared with $3.1 million of pre-tax income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011. The provision for loan losses declined to $550,000 for the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, compared with $900,000 in the comparable 2011 period.
Total assets were $376 million at Dec. 31, 2012, an increase of $72.9 million compared with Dec. 31, 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to loan growth throughout the year, the bank said.
Deposits last year increased $52.8 million to $298.1 million at Dec. 31, 2012. The increase was partly attributable to an increase in demand deposits of $8.3 million, an increase of $9.7 million in NOW account balances and an increase in savings account balances of $13.8 million. The increase in NOW account balances was primarily due to the introduction of a corporate sweep account which replaced a short-term borrowing arrangement with corporate customers. FHLB advances increased $24 million to $31.5 million.
Thomas J. Fontaine, President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement, “We are very pleased that the fourth quarter of 2012 continued the loan and deposit growth we have experienced this year. We are especially pleased with our residential real estate loan production, and the deposit growth generated through our new branch in Wellesley Lower Falls.”
