CU Bancorp : Reports Record First Quarter Earnings of $4.2 Million

CU Bancorp (NASDAQ: CUNB), the parent company of wholly owned California United Bank, today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2015.

The comparability of financial information for the first quarter of 2015 to the first and fourth quarters of 2014 is affected by the Company’s acquisition of 1^st Enterprise Bank (“1^st Enterprise”), which was accomplished by a merger of California United Bank with 1^st Enterprise (“the merger”), effective November 30, 2014. Operating results for the first quarter of 2015 include three months of combined operations, compared to one month of combined operations in the fourth quarter of 2014.

First Quarter 2015 Highlights

• Net organic loan growth of $67 million in the first quarter
• Core net income available to common shareholders increased to $4.2 million, up $1.5 million or 56% from the prior quarter
• Diluted core earnings per share of $0.25, up 25% from previous quarter
• Net interest income increased to $20.6 million, up $4.9 million or 31% from the prior quarter
• Net interest margin increased to 3.95% from 3.78% in the prior quarter
• Core efficiency ratio improved to 62% from 66% in the prior quarter
• Return on average tangible common equity of 8.23%
• Tangible book value per share increased $0.28 to $11.65 per share
• Total assets increased to $2.4 billion, up $142 million or 6% from the prior quarter
• Total loans increased to $1.7 billion, up $41 million or 2.5% from the prior quarter
• Total deposits increased to $2.1 billion, up $136 million or 7% from the prior quarter
• Non-interest bearing demand deposits were 53% of total deposits
• Continued status as well-capitalized, the highest regulatory category

First Quarter Year-Over-Year Pro Forma Comparison

The first quarter of 2015 represents the Company’s first complete quarter of combined operations following the acquisition of 1^st Enterprise. As such, the Company believes comparisons to the results of legacy CUB’s first quarter of 2014 or the results of the fourth quarter of 2014, which only represented one month of combined operations after the merger, do not provide the most appropriate benchmarks for assessing its performance in the first quarter of 2015. The Company believes it is more relevant to compare its results in the first quarter of 2015 to the pro forma combined results for CU Bancorp and 1^st Enterprise in the first quarter of 2014, the last quarter of operations for both entities that was unaffected by merger-related charges. First quarter 2014 pro forma numbers are used for illustrative purposes only.

As the table below shows, excluding merger-related charges and the provision for loan losses, CUB’s net income before the provision for income taxes in the first quarter of 2015 increased 30%, total assets increased 12%, total loans increased 14% and total deposits increased 12% over the pro forma combined results of CU Bancorp and 1^st Enterprise in the first quarter of 2014.

Financial Data (dollars in thousands)

“We believe our combined performance in the first quarter of 2015 demonstrates the synergies and growth inherent in our recent merger and are illustrated by the pro forma comparison of our year-over-year results, which is beneficial to a complete understanding of the merger benefits,” said David Rainer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CU Bancorp and California United Bank. “In addition to the 11% increase in revenues and a 30% increase in pro forma pre-tax income before merger-related expenses and the loan loss provision, we saw double-digit growth in assets, loans and deposits on a pro forma year-over-year basis. Other highlights from our first complete quarter include the linked-quarter expansion in our net interest margin to 3.95% from 3.78%, and the improvement of our core efficiency ratio to 62% from 66% in the previous quarter.”

“Our core system conversion occurred seamlessly on February 9,” said K. Brian Horton, President of CU Bancorp and California United Bank. “With integration near complete, I’m pleased to report that merger-related costs are tracking under budget. Further, while managing the challenges of the integration, we continued to execute on our core business, with annualized double-digit loan growth in the first quarter. Total commitments in commercial and industrial loans were up an annualized 8% from the previous quarter, with utilization relatively flat; however, we experienced steady growth in all categories of loans secured by real estate.”

First Quarter 2015 Summary Results

Net Income and Profitability Ratios

Net income for the first quarter of 2015 was $4.2 million and net income available to common shareholders was $3.9 million or $0.23 per fully diluted share, compared with net income of $2.7 million or $0.24 per fully diluted share for the first quarter of 2014. Merger-related expenses in the first quarter of 2015 were $464 thousand, compared to none in the year-ago quarter. The loan loss provision for the first quarter of 2015 was $1.4 million, compared to $75 thousand in the year-ago quarter.

Core net income available to common shareholders for the first quarter of 2015 was $4.2 million or $0.25 per fully diluted share, compared to core net income of $2.7 million or $0.24 per fully diluted share for the first quarter of 2014.

Net income for the first quarter of 2015 was $4.2 million and net income available to common shareholders was $3.9 million or $0.23 per fully diluted share, compared with net income of $1.3 million and net income available to common shareholders of $1.2 million or $0.09 per fully diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2014. First quarter 2015 merger-related expenses were $464 thousand, compared to $2.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Core net income for the first quarter of 2015 was $4.2 million or $0.25 per fully diluted share, compared to $2.7 million in the prior quarter or $0.20 per fully diluted share. Due to strong loan growth, as well as net charge-offs of $806 thousand in the first quarter of 2015, the Company recognized a loan loss provision of $1.4 million, compared to a loan loss provision of $1.7 million in the prior quarter, which had record loan production of $98 million.

The Company calculates core net income by adding back the tax-effected merger-related charges to GAAP earnings for the periods presented, because the Company believes the use of core net income, a non-GAAP measure, facilitates the assessment of its banking operations and peer comparability. A reconciliation to GAAP is included in tabular form at the end of this release.

The following table shows certain of the Company’s performance ratios for the first quarter of 2015, the fourth quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2014, as well as a column calculating performance ratios based on core net income for the first quarter of 2015 and the fourth quarter of 2014:

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income totaled $20.6 million for the first quarter of 2015, an increase of $8.5 million or 70% from the first quarter of 2014. The increase was primarily driven by the merger and strong net organic loan growth over the last year.

The Company’s net interest income was positively impacted in both the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2014 by the recognition of fair value discount earned on early payoffs of acquired loans. The Company recorded $110 thousand and $519 thousand in discount earned on early loan payoffs of acquired loans in the first quarter of 2015 and 2014, respectively, with a positive impact on the net interest margin of 2 basis points and 16 basis points, respectively.

The net interest margin in the first quarter of 2015 was 3.95%, compared to 3.82% in the first quarter of 2014. The increase was primarily driven by average loans being a higher percentage of earning assets in the first quarter of 2015 than the first quarter of 2014.

Net interest income for the first quarter of 2015 increased $4.9 million or 31% from the fourth quarter of 2014, in spite of two fewer days in the first quarter. This was primarily the result of an increase of $466 million in the Company’s average earning assets, due to the merger with 1^st Enterprise. The Company recorded $110 thousand and $384 thousand in discount earned on early loan payoffs of acquired loans in the first quarter of 2015 and fourth quarter of 2014, respectively. In the fourth quarter of 2014, the Company’s net interest income benefitted from the recovery of $227 thousand in interest on a non-accrual loan that was paid off, with a positive impact on the net interest margin of 5 basis points.

The net interest margin in the first quarter of 2015 was 3.95%, compared to 3.78% in the fourth quarter of 2014. The increase was primarily driven by average loans being a higher percentage of earning assets in the first quarter of 2015 than the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2015 the net interest margin benefitted 4 basis points from the recognition of income due to the early pay off of organic loans; the core loan yield for the quarter was 4.81%. As noted above, the net interest margin in the fourth quarter of 2014 also benefitted from the recovery of $227 thousand in interest on a non-accrual loan that was paid off.

As of March 31, 2015, the Company had $20.4 million of discount remaining on acquired accruing loans.

The Company’s cost of funds was 0.13% in the first quarter of 2015, a decrease from 0.15% in the first quarter of 2014 and equal to 0.13% in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Non-interest Income

Non-interest income was $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2015, an increase of $818 thousand or 46% from $1.8 million in the same quarter of the prior year. The overall increase was primarily due to an increase of $511 thousand in deposit account service charge income as a result of the merger.

Non-interest income in the first quarter of 2015 increased $476 thousand or 22% over the fourth quarter of 2014. The overall increase was primarily due to an increase of $288 thousand in deposit account service charge income, the result of three months of combined operations with 1^st Enterprise, compared to only one month of combined operations in the fourth quarter. Additionally, gain on sale of SBA loans increased by $138 thousand in the first quarter over the prior quarter.

Other non-interest income in the first quarter of 2015 included $28 thousand in transaction referral income, compared to $208 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Non-interest Expense

Non-interest expense for the first quarter of 2015 was $14.9 million, an increase of $5.4 million, or 56% compared to non-interest expense of $9.5 million for the same period of the prior year. The first quarter of 2015 was the first complete quarter of combined operations after the merger, which accounted for the substantial increase in non-interest expense over the prior year. Additionally, the quarter included merger-related expenses of $464 thousand and $385 thousand for three months of core deposit intangible amortization related to the merger, as well as seasonally higher payroll taxes.

Non-interest expense for the first quarter of 2015 increased $806 thousand or 6% over the fourth quarter of 2014. As noted above, the increase was largely a result of the first quarter’s three months of combined operations after the merger, compared to the fourth quarter, which had only one month of combined operations. Merger-related expenses in the first quarter of 2015 were $464 thousand; $1.9 million less than the fourth quarter of 2014, and lower than management’s expectations.

“After only one quarter of combined operations the Company hasn’t yet realized the efficiencies we expect will come,” said Rainer. “As our presence in the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area increases, our strategy is attracting the interest of our competitors’ top lenders, who appreciate our emphasis on relationship-based business banking. We are taking advantage of this opportunity and reinvesting a portion of expense savings into topline revenue growth, and to that end, we have hired two senior relationship managers to grow our business in the Inland Empire and Orange County. As a result, the Company had 253 active full-time equivalent employees at March 31, 2015, compared to 250 at December 31, 2014, and a combined 263—between 1^st Enterprise and California United Bank—at March 31, 2014.”

Income Tax

The Company’s merger-related expenses of $464 thousand in the first quarter of 2015 were tax deductible, resulting in an effective tax rate of 39%.

Balance Sheet

Assets

Total assets at March 31, 2015, were $2.4 billion, a year-over-year increase of $1.0 billion from March 31, 2014. The increase was primarily due to the addition of $782 million in assets from the 1^st Enterprise merger, as well as strong growth in total deposits.

Loans

Total loans were $1.7 billion at March 31, 2015, an increase of $41 million from $1.6 billion at the end of the prior quarter. This also represents an increase of $720 million from March 31, 2014. The increase in loans from the prior quarter was due to organic loan growth; the increase in loans from the year ago period was largely due to the merger.

During the first quarter of 2015, the Company had approximately $67 million of net organic loan production. Pay downs in the acquired loan portfolios were approximately $26 million in the same quarter.

At March 31, 2015, commercial and industrial loans, and owner occupied real estate loans combined were $868 million or 52% of total loans, compared to $868 million or 53% at December 31, 2014.

Deposits

Total deposits at March 31, 2015, were $2.1 billion, an increase of $136 million from $2.0 billion at the end of the prior quarter. The increase in total deposits for the linked-quarter period was primarily in non-interest bearing demand deposits. An existing relationship brought in $68 million of these deposits, which over the course of the next 12 months will likely be reinvested by them. A long-time 1^st Enterprise relationship transferred in $18 million of deposits and the culmination of a business event brought in $18 million of deposits from another 1^st Enterprise relationship, all of which we believe will stay for the foreseeable future. In addition to these transactions, we believe some of the increase in deposits late in the first quarter is likely related to customers accumulating cash in anticipation of federal and state income tax payments, as well as county property taxes in California.

Total deposits increased $880 million from March 31, 2014. The increase from the prior year was primarily the result of the merger with 1^st Enterprise.

Non-interest bearing deposits at March 31, 2015, were $1.1 billion or 53% of total deposits, compared to $1.0 billion or 53% of total deposits at December 31, 2014. Cost of deposits for the quarter was 0.11%, the same as the prior quarter.

Asset Quality

Total non-performing assets were $5.8 million, or 0.24% of total assets at March 31, 2015, compared with $4.8 million, or 0.21% of total assets, at December 31, 2014.

Total nonaccrual loans were $5.0 million, or 0.30% of total loans, at March 31, 2015, compared with $3.9 million, or 0.24% of total loans, at December 31, 2014. Of the total non-performing assets at March 31, 2015, the other real estate owned category consisted of one single-family residence located in Washington State, which is being carried on the books at $850 thousand, the estimated fair value less costs of disposition.

Net charge-offs for the first quarter of 2015 were $806 thousand or 0.05% of average loans. “Net charge-offs in 2014 were 2 basis points of average loans and the Company experienced a net recovery in 2013,” said Anne Williams, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Credit Officer for CU Bancorp and California United Bank. “We don’t believe this level of charge-offs in the first quarter is indicative of a change in that trend, especially given the low level of non-performing assets at March 31, 2015.”

The Company recorded a loan loss provision of $1.4 million for the first quarter of 2015. The loan loss provision reflects net charge-offs recorded during the quarter, as well as strong organic loan growth during the quarter.

The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans (excluding acquired loans that have been marked to fair value and their related allowance) was 1.36% at March 31, 2015, compared with 1.39% at December 31, 2014, and 1.48% at March 31, 2014.

Capital

CU Bancorp remained well capitalized at March 31, 2015, with total risk weighted assets of $2,086,916,000. All of the Company’s capital ratios are above minimum regulatory standards for “well capitalized” institutions.

At March 31, 2015, tangible common equity was $195.8 million with common shares issued of 16,803,664 as of the same date, resulting in tangible book value per common share of $11.65. This compares to tangible common equity of $189.7 million with a tangible book value per common share of $11.37 at December 31, 2014. At September 30, 2014, prior to the merger, the per share tangible book value of CU Bancorp stock was $11.95.

About CU Bancorp and California United Bank

CU Bancorp is the parent of California United Bank. Founded in 2005, California United Bank provides a full range of financial services, including credit and deposit products, cash management, and internet banking to businesses, non-profits, entrepreneurs, professionals and investors throughout Southern California from its headquarters office in Downtown Los Angeles and additional full-service offices in the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley, the Conejo Valley, Simi Valley, Los Angeles, South Bay, Orange County and the Inland Empire. California United Bank is an SBA Preferred Lender. To view CU Bancorp’s most recent financial information, please visit the Investor Relations section of the Company’s Web site. Information on products and services may be obtained by calling 818-257-7700 or visiting the Company’s Web site at www.cunb.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain forward-looking information about CU Bancorp (the “Company”) that is intended to be covered by the safe harbor for “forward-looking statements” provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Such statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and we assume no duty to update such statements. We caution readers that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, implied or projected by, such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: lower than expected revenues; credit quality deterioration or a reduction in real estate values could cause an increase in the allowance for credit losses and a reduction in net earnings; increased competitive pressure among depository institutions; the Company’s ability to complete future acquisitions, successfully integrate acquired entities, or achieve expected beneficial synergies and/or operating efficiencies within expected time-frames or at all; the possibility that personnel changes will not proceed as planned; the cost of additional capital is more than expected; a change in the interest rate environment reduces net interest margins; asset/liability repricing risks and liquidity risks; legal matters could be filed against the Company and could take longer or cost more than expected to resolve or may be resolved adversely to the Company; general economic conditions, either nationally or in the market areas in which the Company does or anticipates doing business, are less favorable than expected; environmental conditions, including natural disasters and drought, may disrupt our business, impede our operations, negatively impact the values of collateral securing the Company’s loans and leases or impair the ability of our borrowers to support their debt obligations; the economic and regulatory effects of the continuing war on terrorism and other events of war; legislative or regulatory requirements or changes adversely affecting the Company’s business; changes in the securities markets; regulatory approvals for any capital activities cannot be obtained on the terms expected or on the anticipated schedule; and, other risks that are described in CU Bancorp’s public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or if any of the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements proves to be incorrect, CU Bancorp’s results could differ materially from those expressed in, implied or projected by such forward-looking statements. CU Bancorp assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. For a more complete discussion of risks and uncertainties, investors and security holders are urged to read CU Bancorp’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports filed by CU Bancorp with the SEC. The documents filed by CU Bancorp with the SEC may be obtained at CU Bancorp’s website at www.cubancorp.com or at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These documents may also be obtained free of charge from CU Bancorp by directing a request to: CU Bancorp c/o California United Bank, 15821 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 100, Encino, CA 91436. Attention: Investor Relations. Telephone 818-257-7700.

As of March 31, 2015, there were no restructured loans or loans over 90 days past due and still accruing.