CB Bancshares says profits are up 15.3%

Advertiser Staff

CB Bancshares Inc., the parent company of City Bank and Hawai'i's fourth-largest bank holding company, said second-quarter profits climbed 15.3 percent because of lower interest rates, higher fee income and cost cutting.

CB Bancshares said net income for the quarter ended June 30 rose to $3.6 million, or 92 cents a share, from $3.1 million, or 81 cents, in the year-earlier period.

The bank, which operates 20 branches in the state, said the boost in earnings was mostly because of an improvement in the interest margin, the difference between the rates at which the bank borrows money and the rates at which it lends that money out.

That resulted in $19 million in net interest income, up 10.9 percent from the same period a year ago. The bank's non-

interest income, mostly from service charges and fees, was $3.8 million, up 15.7 percent from a year earlier.

While profits rose, the bank's assets fell to $1.6 billion, down 6.1 percent from a year earlier.

Its loans totaled $1.1 billion, down 13.5 percent. Deposits were also down, falling 3.3 percent to $1.1 billion.

Last month, CB Bancshares was added to the Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization stocks.

Ronald K. Migita, president and chief executive of the Hawai'i bankholding company, said at the time that the bank's inclusion in the Russell 2000 means that Wall Street recognized the company's efforts to increase shareholder value.