US Metro Bancorp, the holding company for US Metro Bank (President and CEO Dong Il Kim), reported net income of $2.59 million, or $0.16 per share, for the first quarter of 2025, according to its earnings release on April 25.
This marks a 48.2% increase compared to the prior quarter’s net income of $1.75 million ($0.11 per share) and a 76.4% surge from $1.47 million ($0.09 per share) in the first quarter of 2024. The bank, which had experienced over a 50% year-over-year decline in profit last year, appears to be showing strong signs of recovery.
Key balance sheet metrics, including total assets, loans, and deposits, all showed year-over-year growth.
Total assets stood at $1.418 billion, up 9.5% from $1.296 billion a year earlier and 1.5% higher than the $1.397 billion reported in the previous quarter.
Total loans reached $1.198 billion, representing an 11.4% increase from $1.075 billion in Q1 2024 and a 1.9% rise from $1.176 billion in the previous quarter.
Total deposits grew to $1.220 billion, up 7.7% from $1.133 billion a year ago, although slightly down 0.6% compared to $1.227 billion in the prior quarter.
Profitability metrics also improved significantly. The return on average assets (ROA) rose to 0.73%, up 26 basis points year-over-year and 23 basis points quarter-over-quarter. Net interest margin (NIM) came in at 3.00%, a 38-basis-point increase compared to the same quarter last year.
[By WONHEE CHO]
