White River Bancshares Co. Earns $779,000, or $0.78 Per Diluted Share, in Second Quarter 2023; Results Highlighted by Strong Loan and Deposit Growth.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark: White River Bancshares Company (OTCQX: WRIV), (the "Company") the holding company for Signature Bank of Arkansas (the "Bank"), today reported net income of $779,000, or $0.78 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2023, compared to $1.79 million, or $1.79 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2022. In the immediate prior quarter, the Company earned $340,000, or $0.34 per diluted share. In the first six months of 2023, net income was $1.12 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, compared to $2.86 million, or $2.88 per diluted share, in the first six months of 2022. All financial results are unaudited.

"Our second quarter results are a reflection of strength in our loan growth, capital levels and credit quality metrics," said Gary Head, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The strategic expansions of our brand in Harrison, Jonesboro, and the Northwest Arkansas bilingual community through Banco Si are paying dividends to our balance sheet -literally- contributing to 21.7% loan growth and 14.2% deposit growth year over year. These results were especially rewarding given the current high-rate environment. The unprecedented rise in funding costs impacted our operating results for the quarter, but we believe our new market locations will continue to have meaningful contributions to our earnings in the years ahead as we continue reaching new customers."

"We have been very deliberate in our deposit gathering strategies, and entered these new markets in 2022 with the goal of building out our deposit base to fund new loan activity," said Scott Sandlin, Chief Strategy Officer. "While rising rates have driven customers to higher yielding deposit accounts, demand and non-interest-bearing deposits remained strong at 27.4% of total deposits and savings and interest-bearing transaction accounts represented 35.4% of total deposits at June 30, 2023. In addition, we are focused on strengthening our loan to deposit ratio, which was 97% at June 30, 2023. New customer relationships are fueling loan and deposit growth and we expect that to continue as we grow into our new market locations."

Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights:

Second quarter net income was $779,000, or $0.78 per diluted share, compared to $1.79 million, or $1.79 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2022.

Second quarter net interest margin ("NIM") was 3.02%, compared to 3.87% in the second quarter a year ago.

The Company recorded a $225,000 provision for...