NewzIntel.com

Category: CTF

  • MIL-OSI USA: During House Agriculture Committee Hearing, Feenstra Speaks Out Against California’s Proposition 12 Mandates on Iowa Hog Farmers

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-04)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during a U.S. House Agriculture Committee hearing on California’s Proposition 12, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) discussed the negative economic impacts of this egregious mandate on Iowa hog farmers and submitted for the congressional record letters penned by Iowa hog farmers about the adverse effects of Proposition 12 on their farms and operations.

    Matt Schuiteman, a hog farmer from Sioux County, Iowa, also testified before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee about the negative ramifications of Proposition 12.

    “California’s Prop 12 mandates threaten the safety and health of hogs, increase operating costs for Iowa hog farmers, raise pork prices for families, and jeopardize our food and farm security. It’s why I helped lead legislation and voted for a Farm Bill that overturns Prop 12, restores consumer choice, and supports Iowa farmers and our rural communities,” said Rep. Feenstra. “During today’s hearing, I submitted for the congressional record personal letters from Iowa hog farmers who have faced decreased herd health, substantial financial expense, and market losses because of Prop 12. Allowing a state that represents less than 1/10 of 1% of hog production to mandate activist-driven practices for farmers across the country is blatantly wrong. Representing the largest pork-producing congressional district in the country, I will continue to work to repeal Prop 12 and stand up for our hog farmers.”

    In response to Feenstra’s question about the implications of Proposition 12 on the health of hogs,Schuiteman responded, “Part of the root of the problem is just simply the fact that you have an initiative that was crafted by people who have not lived the industry and have not been around the animals. Prop 12 takes away our ability to act on what we know for the best interest of the animal. And we would prefer to have the freedom to manage our animals the best way we can see fit for the best possible outcome.” 

    Schuiteman further noted that “We [hog farmers] have talked about the $3,500 – $4,500 range per sow or more,” to convert operations to comply with Proposition 12.

    Today, Feenstra helped introduce the Save Our Bacon Act, which would ensure that states, like California and Massachusetts, cannot set arbitrary mandates on production practices for farmers across the country. 

    Last year, Feenstra also voted to pass a Farm Bill out of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee that would have repealed Proposition 12.

    You can watch Feenstra’s full remarks HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: During House Agriculture Committee Hearing, Feenstra Speaks Out Against California’s Proposition 12 Mandates on Iowa Hog Farmers

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-04)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during a U.S. House Agriculture Committee hearing on California’s Proposition 12, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) discussed the negative economic impacts of this egregious mandate on Iowa hog farmers and submitted for the congressional record letters penned by Iowa hog farmers about the adverse effects of Proposition 12 on their farms and operations.

    Matt Schuiteman, a hog farmer from Sioux County, Iowa, also testified before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee about the negative ramifications of Proposition 12.

    “California’s Prop 12 mandates threaten the safety and health of hogs, increase operating costs for Iowa hog farmers, raise pork prices for families, and jeopardize our food and farm security. It’s why I helped lead legislation and voted for a Farm Bill that overturns Prop 12, restores consumer choice, and supports Iowa farmers and our rural communities,” said Rep. Feenstra. “During today’s hearing, I submitted for the congressional record personal letters from Iowa hog farmers who have faced decreased herd health, substantial financial expense, and market losses because of Prop 12. Allowing a state that represents less than 1/10 of 1% of hog production to mandate activist-driven practices for farmers across the country is blatantly wrong. Representing the largest pork-producing congressional district in the country, I will continue to work to repeal Prop 12 and stand up for our hog farmers.”

    In response to Feenstra’s question about the implications of Proposition 12 on the health of hogs,Schuiteman responded, “Part of the root of the problem is just simply the fact that you have an initiative that was crafted by people who have not lived the industry and have not been around the animals. Prop 12 takes away our ability to act on what we know for the best interest of the animal. And we would prefer to have the freedom to manage our animals the best way we can see fit for the best possible outcome.” 

    Schuiteman further noted that “We [hog farmers] have talked about the $3,500 – $4,500 range per sow or more,” to convert operations to comply with Proposition 12.

    Today, Feenstra helped introduce the Save Our Bacon Act, which would ensure that states, like California and Massachusetts, cannot set arbitrary mandates on production practices for farmers across the country. 

    Last year, Feenstra also voted to pass a Farm Bill out of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee that would have repealed Proposition 12.

    You can watch Feenstra’s full remarks HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • India’s media sector booms with regional growth and digital expansion: govt

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    India’s media and broadcasting sector is undergoing a dynamic transformation, driven by steady growth in traditional platforms and rapid advancement in the digital space.

    In a statement presented in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L. Murugan highlighted key developments across print, television, and public broadcasting.

    The number of registered publications has increased from 1.05 lakh in 2014-15 to 1.55 lakh in 2024- 25, reflecting the strong rise of regional and vernacular media. Private satellite television channels have also grown from 821 to 908 over the same period, underscoring the sector’s resilience and adaptability.

    Doordarshan’s Free Dish platform now carries 92 private channels along with 50 DD channels, offering content in multiple regional languages. This multilingual outreach has played a crucial role in bridging the information gap in remote and underserved areas.

    The platform’s expansion is part of a larger strategy to democratize access to news and entertainment. Under the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) Scheme 2021- 26, Prasar Bharati continues to modernize its transmission infrastructure.

    As part of this initiative, three new transmitters have been approved for Himachal Pradesh- including a 5kW unit in Mandi and 1kW FM transmitters in Chamba and Dharampur.

    With a total outlay of ₹2,539 crore, the BIND scheme aims to modernize All India Radio and Doordarshan facilities, expand FM coverage to over 80 percent of the population, and strengthen signal reach in strategically important border areas.

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Maritime News – Passenger Ship HANARIA Equipped with Yanmar’s Maritime Hydrogen Fuel Cell System Wins Marine Engineering of the Year 2024

    Source: Yanmar Holdings

    July 23, 2025 – Osaka, Japan – The passenger vessel HANARIA, equipped with Yanmar Power Technology Co., Ltd.’s GH240FC maritime hydrogen fuel cell system, has received the Marine Engineering of the Year 2024 (Dokou Memorial Award). The honor is awarded by the Japan Institute of Marine Engineering for outstanding technological innovation in the field. This year, the award recognized four companies: MOL Techno-Trade, Ltd., HONGAWARA Ship Yard Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation, and Yanmar Power Technology, a subsidiary of Yanmar Holdings.

    HANARIA is Japan’s first hybrid passenger ship powered by both hydrogen and biodiesel. Operated by MOL Techno-Trade, Ltd., the vessel features Yanmar’s first maritime hydrogen fuel cell system, a proprietary lithium-ion battery system developed by Yanmar, and an integrated management system that controls all onboard power. It features two operating modes: a zero-emission mode using only hydrogen fuel cell systems and lithium-ion batteries, and a hybrid mode that combines hydrogen fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, and a biodiesel generator running in parallel.

    The onboard systems aim to reduce the environmental footprint of vessels—a challenge in the hard-to-electrify maritime sector—while also enhancing passenger comfort by significantly cutting noise, vibration and exhaust odor.

    Furthermore, HANARIA has been selected for the “Ship of the Year 2024,” an award presented by the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers that recognizes vessels demonstrating technical, artistic, and social excellence. This marks the first time in history that a vessel has received both the “Marine Engineering of the Year” and the “Ship of the Year” awards.

    The Yanmar Group continues to advance its sustainability goals through its YANMAR GREEN CHALLENGE 2050 initiative and remains committed to providing decarbonization solutions that meet customer needs.

    References

    Press release (November 9, 2023): Yanmar Makes First Delivery of Maritime Hydrogen Fuel Cell System to Hybrid Passenger Ship

    https://www.yanmar.com/global/marinecommercial/news/2023/11/09/130776.html

    Press release (July 9, 2025): Yanmar Maritime Hydrogen Fuel Cell System Wins Red Dot Design Award 2025

    https://www.yanmar.com/global/news/2025/07/09/154079.html

    About Yanmar

    With beginnings in Osaka, Japan, in 1912, Yanmar was the first ever to succeed in making a compact diesel engine of a practical size in 1933. A pioneer in diesel engine technology, Yanmar is a global innovator in a wide range of industrial equipment, from small and large engines, agricultural machinery and facilities, construction equipment, energy systems, marine, to machine tools, and components — Yanmar’s global business operations span seven domains. On land, at sea, and in the city, Yanmar provides advanced solutions to the challenges customers face, towards realizing A Sustainable Future. For more details, please visit the official website of Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: How public development banks could narrow inequality gaps between the Global North and South

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Alicja Paulina Krubnik, PhD Candidate, Political Science, McMaster University

    The United Nations’ Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) recently concluded in Seville, Spain. It gathered global leaders from government, development, academia and civil society to discuss key barriers to sustainable development and shape collaborative efforts to address them.

    FFD4 comes at a crucial time, when the Action Agenda from the last FFD3, set 10 years ago, must be built upon and upheld. With only five years left to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), more than 80 per cent are off track. More tangibly, 2030 is a key deadline for global emissions reduction.

    The global aid environment is also in crisis, just as low- and middle-income countries face mounting pressures due to the interconnected impacts of climate change, environmental damage, poverty and inequality.

    Boosting global co-operation

    FFD4 was an opportunity to revitalize and transform international development co-operation to help states meet these challenges and pursue sustainable development.

    Achieving this requires more than decarbonizing development financing. FFD4 faced its most testing challenge yet: how to reform the global financial systems that direct development resources.

    Key factors include aligning funding with the sustainable development needs of low- and middle-income countries, increasing access to long-term concessional financing — loans or other forms of financing provided on terms more favourable than those in the market — and reducing public debt burdens.

    Public development banks offer crucial leadership here. They provide affordable financing, direct resources where urgently needed and align funding with long-term development strategies, giving them significant potential to democratize project ownership.

    Urgent human development needs

    At the FFD4 gathering, many representatives, especially from Global South and climate-vulnerable countries, highlighted the inadequacy of development financing. Seedy Keita, the minister for finance and economic affairs from The Gambia, told the conference that as developing countries are being urged to invest more in climate and human development initiatives, they lack the tools to do so.

    The countries facing the worst climate impacts also struggle with urgent human development needs. Adapting to and mitigating climate breakdown are inseparable from economic and social development, with human welfare — access to food, water and clean air, avoiding displacement and the safety of women and girls — intimately linked to climate.

    Yet climate-vulnerable states receive a small share of global development financing, particularly for adaptation projects that yield lower returns. Additionally, resources for building value-added industries in low- and middle-income countries remain insufficient.

    Scant commitment to action

    Simply increasing financing is not enough. At the launch of the latest SDGs Report, UN Secretary General António Guterres stated:

    “There is something fundamentally wrong in the structure of the economic and financial architecture and in the way it operates to the detriment of developing countries.”

    In short, it’s too rigid and unresponsive to the Global South’s unique needs, ultimately constraining their ability to act on the SDGs.

    The most ambitious and pressing outcome of FFD4, the “Sevilla Commitment,” addresses key issues in efforts to reform international financial systems but lacks commitment to strong, transformative action.

    Too much priority is given to enabling low- and middle-income countries to access private finance for development. Using public development finance to mobilize private investments and lending has failed to close the financing gap.

    Poverty and inequality worsens

    Private support for the structural green transformation needed for long-term economic development in low- and middle-income countries remains inadequate, widening the divide between the Global North and South. The strategy of catalyzing private finance has shifted risk to public balance sheets while reserving most of the profits for private, often multinational corporations — what’s known as “de-risking.”

    A privatized development strategy has pushed fiscal austerity measures on Global South countries to access international capital markets to fund development initiatives. Many of these countries are struggling with alarming debt, forcing them to divert scarce funds from essential services like health and education to service debts, which worsens poverty and inequality.

    FFD4’s efforts to create a fairer debt system include scaling up debt swaps and forming an alliance between creditor countries and multilateral banks to implement debt “pause clauses” during crises. While many states called for deeper debt reforms and a UN convention on sovereign debt, several wealthy countries resisted bold changes.

    They largely overlooked the Global North’s climate debt — estimated at $192 trillion. The Sevilla Commitment proposes launching a UN-led intergovernmental process, opening a potential path for creditor action.

    As Spain’s economy minister put it, FFD4 is a “launchpad for action” not a “landing zone.”

    Directing money to where it’s needed most

    Public development banks have the potential to lead this action for a more prosperous and equitable future. They can mobilize under-utilized public resources more economically, rapidly and effectively to serve development goals in a climate-forward way.

    These banks can direct finance to where it’s most needed, aligning with development priorities across diverse low- and middle-income countries.

    Public development banks are also well-positioned to co-ordinate at multilateral, regional and national levels and to align global decarbonization goals to local demands. The largest coalition of banks, the Finance in Commons group, was recognized in the Sevilla Commitment. The group called for strengthening public development banks’ co-operation and leadership at the FFD4. Already a leader in global climate financing, further co-ordination among public debate banks could amplify its impact.



    Read more:
    Your essential guide to climate finance

    Supporting green, equitable development

    Structural change requires the long-term, affordable and counter-cyclical financing that public development banks can provide.

    For indebted developing countries facing high borrowing costs, steadfast concessional financing is crucial. Beyond finance, public development banks have a privileged role in knowledge formation and dissemination, which can be leveraged alongside their financial power to support green and equitable development.

    As public organizations, public development banks offer greater potential for transparency and accountability to democratic decision-making, aligning financing with public values. Beyond simply de-risking, these banks can leverage their financial power to generate broader public benefits.

    Alicja Paulina Krubnik receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the International Development Research Centre.

    – ref. How public development banks could narrow inequality gaps between the Global North and South – https://theconversation.com/how-public-development-banks-could-narrow-inequality-gaps-between-the-global-north-and-south-261160

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Wicker: The Pentagon needs major reform. Now is our chance

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker

    Fox News Opinion

    Read the full opinion editorial below.

    Last year, I released two plans for reforming the military. The first, 21st Century Peace through Strength, focused on the need for additional defense funding to produce what the U.S. military needs to keep the peace.

    The second, Restoring Freedom’s Forge, outlined a plan to change fundamentally the Pentagon’s business processes away from a Soviet-style bureaucratic mess to a modern process that rewards commercial innovation and fosters competition. 

    Fortunately, President Donald Trump campaigned on both these issues. He promised a defense spending boost, and we are well on our way after the $150 billion military infusion included in the reconciliation bill.  And the president promised to pursue wholesale Pentagon reform, getting rid of red tape and instead freeing our innovators to build weapons better, faster and at lower cost.

    In Congress, we recognize that we have no time to waste. The Senate Armed Services Committee recently voted overwhelmingly (26-1) to advance Congress’ annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill contains the most significant reforms to the Pentagon’s weapons-buying process in generations.

    For decades, we have paid defense companies to develop weapons primarily with taxpayer money. While this process will still be necessary for some systems, there are thousands of innovative companies who are developing weapons using private capital. This bill is written to encourage acquisition by those companies, who are often outpacing the Pentagon’s processes by years. 

    We have also spent many years under a broken weapons buying process. At dozens of stages, officials can say “No” and slow programs down. As it stands, program managers decide what to buy but shortly thereafter lose authority over the process. From there, contracting officers under a separate reporting structure can take 18 months to run a compliance-based process. This NDAA would create portfolio acquisition executives who are empowered to make decisions, take risk and then be held accountable for decisions.

    For decades, we have levied a crazy, years-long bureaucratic process to qualify new parts and types of weapons for military use. That process rewards the status quo and severely discourages competition. This bill will create a new streamlined process for qualification, pairing it with a new $1 billion fund from the reconciliation bill. Taken together, we will dramatically improve competition at the Pentagon and protect against price-gouging.

    The United States has a legacy of building some of the most advanced munitions in the world. The track records of our GMLRS surface-to-surface missiles and Patriot air defense interceptors are undeniable. But not every one of our weapons needs to be “exquisite,” a term of art for systems that are sophisticated, intricate and difficult to build. Instead, we are providing nearly $5 billion in defense reconciliation for new lower-cost munitions, many of which will be produced through advanced manufacturing. 

    We are living in the most dangerous moment since World War II. To enable an American-led 21st century, we need a military and a defense industrial base capable of maintaining the peace. The defense reconciliation bill made a big bet on American innovation, and the Senate’s 2026 NDAA introduces fundamental Pentagon reforms. With both, we can achieve a generational rebuilding of the U.S. military.

     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warren Secures Key Commitments from Social Security Chief to Protect Americans’ Benefits

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    July 23, 2025

    Bisignano agrees to independent investigation into data and metrics, no Schedule F, and more

    Bisignano admits responsibility for inaccurate email about Big Beautiful Bill, says doesn’t know whether White House Office of General Counsel (OGC) reviewed before SSA sent to all beneficiaries

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a leader of the Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room, secured key commitments and admissions from Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano during a private meeting. The commitments relate to data and metrics, staffing, paper checks, and more. She also pressed Bisignano for information on his politicization of the SSA.

    “It’s my job as a United States Senator to conduct oversight, ask tough questions, and get real answers for the American people. The commitments I secured in today’s meeting with Commissioner Bisignano will make it easier for people to get their checks and get help with their benefits,” said Senator Warren. “I’ll keep pressing on these issues and fighting to protect Americans’ Social Security.”

    Senator Warren secured the following commitments and admissions from Commissioner Bisignano:

    • Commissioner Bisignano agreed to an independent IG investigation of Social Security service data and metrics. Recent reporting highlighted that under Bisignano’s watch, SSA has removed key service metrics, such as call wait times, from its website. An investigation from Senator Warren’s office revealed that the remaining metrics appear to be inaccurate and misleading. In the meeting with Senator Warren, Commissioner Bisignano agreed to an independent audit of both the collecting and reporting of data. He also committed that specific data will be publicly reported, such as the number of dropped calls, how often calls are transferred to incorrect departments, and what percentage of callers actually resolve their issue over the phone.
    • Commissioner Bisignano committed that SSA will not shift workers to Schedule F. Previous Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek publicly called for entire SSA offices to be converted to Schedule F, which would, in effect, make it easier for leadership to fire workers with little cause. In today’s meeting, Senator Warren secured a commitment from Commissioner Bisignano to change course and not shift SSA workers to Schedule F. However, Senator Warren was concerned that Bisignano confirmed SSA has no plans to hire back workers who have been gutted from the agency — even amid reported capacity issues.
    • Commissioner Bisignano admitted he was responsible for the inaccurate SSA email about Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill that went out to all beneficiaries, that his team had discussed the email with the White House, and that he was not sure whether the SSA’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) had reviewed it. Immediately following Congressional Republicans passing Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” SSA sent an inaccurate email to all beneficiaries with inaccurate information about benefits they could expect as a result of the bill. After receiving backlash, SSA quietly added a few lines at the bottom of the online version of their press release and sent out no correction email to beneficiaries.In the meeting with Senator Warren, Commissioner Bisignano revealed that his team at SSA was responsible for the initial email. He confirmed that it was discussed with the White House, but admitted that he didn’t know whether it had been run by SSA’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) before it was sent out to all beneficiaries. When Senator Warren asked whether he planned to send out a correction to all beneficiaries given the inaccurate and misleading information provided to them about their benefits, Bisignano said he did not know why they had not initially sent out a correction but believed the email had “aged” and did not require a follow-up.
    • Commissioner Bisignano committed not to entirely remove the option for beneficiaries to receive paper checks, backtracking on the agency’s own recent announcement to “stop issuing” them. SSA recently announced that it would stop issuing paper checks, which would significantly disrupt services for some of the most vulnerable Americans. In the meeting with Senator Warren, Commissioner Bisignano backtracked, confirming that paper checks will remain an option for beneficiaries who need them.

    Senate Dems’ Social Security War Room is a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Governments of Canada and Manitoba investing over $6 million to strengthen local food processing sector

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    July 23, 2025 – Brandon, Manitoba – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

    The governments of Canada and Manitoba are investing more than $6 million to help modernize food processing facilities and increase food production capacity across Manitoba under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced today.

    Nineteen food processors in Manitoba have been approved for funding for equipment upgrades, facility expansions, and new technologies that will improve efficiency, production capacity, and environmental performance.

    Some of the approved projects include:

    • Jowett Farms in Blumenort, for refrigeration and line speed improvements
    • River Valley Specialty Farms Inc., in Bagot, for installation of high-accuracy sorter
    • Prairie Flour Mills Ltd., in Elie, for grain receiving expansion
    • Buffalo Creek Mills in Altona, for doubling capacity of oat flaking
    • Prairie Fava Ltd., in Glenboro, for increasing storage capacity

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Gumboot Friday supporting young people faster

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey joined the Gumboot Friday team today, an initiative that is helping thousands of young people access mental health support faster.

    “We are turning the corner with reducing wait times and increasing the workforce. Initiatives such as Gumboot Friday are helping drive that change,” Mr Doocey says.

    “In the first twelve months of Government funding, Gumboot Friday has been able to scale up and deliver more than 30,000 free counselling sessions. They have supported more than 10,000 young New Zealanders who might not otherwise have access to timely support.”

    Last year, the Government committed $24 million over four years to the Gumboot Friday initiative under the National – New Zealand First coalition agreement to scale up its support for young people across the country.

    “This funding has given certainty moving forward for the organisation, for counsellors delivering the service, and most importantly, for young people who rely on it. It means Gumboot Friday can continue to scale up knowing they are backed by the Government.

    “There are now more than 700 qualified counsellors registered on the Gumboot Friday platform, a 33 per cent increase over the last year. This is an additional 175 counsellors. This has given young people a greater choice of the counsellor they see and has ensured that if someone is reaching out, they are seen when and where they need it.

    “There are not many organisations that can get our young people off waitlists into counselling often within just a few days.

    “The Government is backing Gumboot Friday to deliver more. Funding for 2025/26 will deliver 40,000 individual counselling sessions, reaching as many as 15,000 young New Zealanders.

    “Over the next 12 months, the organisation will be looking at how it can scale up and encourage even more young people to access free counselling.

    “I want to acknowledge the tireless work of the team at I Am Hope. It’s a powerful partnership between Government and a grassroots organisation that’s making a real difference in the lives of many New Zealanders.” 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gov. Kemp Announces TCSG, USG Sign First Articulation Agreement Since Passage of Top State for Talent Act

    Source: US State of Georgia

    ATLANTA – Governor Brian Kemp today announced that the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and the University System of Georgia (USG) signed an articulation agreement to help nursing students seamlessly advance their education and careers, the first of its kind following the passage of HB 192, the Top State for Talent Act. The agreement allows graduates of TCSG’s associate degree in nursing programs to transfer directly into participating USG institutions to complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), establishing a true 2+2 transfer model between the two systems.

    “Georgia’s success as the No. 1 state for business depends on a strong pipeline of talent, especially in critical fields like healthcare,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “This agreement between TCSG and USG is a perfect example of how our state is working together to expand opportunities for students, strengthen our workforce, and ensure that every Georgian has the opportunity to succeed.”

    Governor Kemp has made aligning the state’s workforce pipeline with the needs of employers a top priority. The Top State for Talent Initiative, including the state’s first unified high-demand career list, seeks to bring private and public sector leaders together to help Georgians pursue the opportunities available to them statewide.

    This partnership between TCSG and USC supports the initiative by developing and retaining a highly skilled healthcare workforce. Under the agreement, students who graduate from a TCSG college with an Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) will be eligible for admission into BSN programs at participating USG institutions. This streamlined transition offers students a cost-effective and accessible option to continue their education without interruption or loss of credit.

    “With this agreement, we’re eliminating barriers and opening doors for more Georgians to pursue rewarding careers in nursing,” said TCSG Commissioner Greg Dozier. “It’s a strategic move that helps our students, our healthcare partners, and our communities—especially as we work together to fill critical nursing shortages across the state.”

    “Georgia’s growing population means a greater demand for healthcare, and this partnership helps meet it by preparing more nurses, especially in rural and underserved areas,” said USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue. “As we align programs, we’re making it easier for students to grow their skills. It’s a smart investment that drives student success, expands access to care, and builds a more prosperous Georgia.”

    In addition to easing the transition between systems, the agreement expands career pathways for students by creating a clear route from an associate degree to a bachelor’s degree in one of the state’s most in-demand fields. It is part of a broader strategy by TCSG and USG to increase educational attainment and create upward mobility for students pursuing careers in high-demand industries, including nursing, healthcare, and allied health professions.

    For more information, visit www.tcsg.edu or www.usg.edu.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Smoke and Wildfires Impacting Road Safety Across Oregon

    Source: US State of Oregon

    strong>SALEM, Ore. – As wildfires continue to impact parts of Oregon, Governor Tina Kotek has declared a State of Emergency, effective July 16, 2025, through December 31, 2025. Travelers are urged to use extra caution on the roads and know the conditions in the areas they are traveling to. Smoke can severely reduce visibility and create dangerous driving conditions. In some areas, wildfire activity has led to road closures or detours. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM), and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) are working together to keep Oregonians safe—and they’re asking the public to do their part before hitting the road.

    “If you’re planning a road trip this summer, make sure your car is ready,” OEM spokesperson, Erin Zysett said. “Start your trip with a full tank of gas or electric charge, check your tires and air conditioner, and know your route. Conditions can change quickly during wildfire season.”

    OEM urges travelers to carry a well-stocked emergency car kit in case they become stranded or delayed. Your kit should include:

    • Jumper cables
    • Flares or a reflective triangle
    • Flashlight and extra batteries
    • First aid kit
    • Blanket
    • Map or printed directions
    • Cell phone and car charger
    • Backup power supply
    • Hand-crank Weather Radio
    • N95 mask (to help filter smoky air)
    • Plastic sheeting and duct tape (to shelter in place if needed)
    • Wet wipes, garbage bags, and toilet paper for sanitation
    • Whistle to signal for help
    • Water and non-perishable snacks
    • Cash or traveler’s checks
    • Portable shovel

    “Smoke affects visibility as well as air quality and can lead to sudden changes in driving conditions,” said Chris Varley, DEQ Spokesperson. “If visibility is poor or the air is hazardous, consider delaying your trip. Your safety comes first. If you must drive in smokey conditions, close all the windows and direct the car’s air system to recirculate to help reduce the amount of smoke entering the car.”

    Before You Go:

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Florida Man Sentenced for Decades-Long Scheme to Defraud the IRS

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    A Miami man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by concealing millions of dollars in assets and income in undisclosed Swiss bank accounts and claiming to the IRS that those assets were not his and instead belonged to foreign nationals.

    The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: between 1985 and 2020, Dan Rotta, a dual Brazilian and U.S. citizen, hid more than $20 million in assets in dozens of secret Swiss accounts at five different Swiss banks, including UBS, Credit Suisse, Bank Bonhôte, and Bank Julius Baer. The accounts were held in his own name, in the names of sham structures, and, in one instance, a pseudonym. Over the years, Rotta earned tens of millions of dollars of income from these assets that he did not report on his tax returns and used to fund his lavish lifestyle. He caused a substantial tax loss to the IRS.

    Rotta employed increasingly elaborate schemes to keep his accounts hidden. Over the years, he kept his accounts open, in part, by falsely representing that he was not a U.S. citizen, leveraging his Brazilian citizenship to claim he was a Brazilian citizen residing in Brazil.

    Starting in 2008, after it was reported publicly that UBS and its bankers were under criminal investigation for helping U.S. taxpayers evade their taxes, Rotta closed his UBS account and moved his funds to Credit Suisse and Bank Bonhôte.

    In 2011, after the IRS obtained records related to one of Rotta’s Swiss accounts, he nominally changed the documentation of his accounts at Credit Suisse and Bank Bonhôte to make it appear that his co-conspirator, a Brazilian national and resident, owned the assets in the accounts. Despite the change, Rotta continued to control the assets and transferred millions of dollars out of those accounts for his use.

    Shortly after Rotta changed the account documentation, the IRS  audited him. During the audit, Rotta falsely denied that he owned the assets in the foreign financial accounts and, instead, claimed that the millions of dollars he withdrew from the accounts were non-taxable loans from foreign nationals. Rotta provided the IRS with fake promissory notes and false affidavits from the foreign nationals to corroborate his claims. During the audit, Rotta continued to use the funds in his foreign accounts to fund his lifestyle in the United States, but to conceal his use of the funds from the IRS, he often routed transfers from his foreign accounts through nominee accounts and attorney trust fund accounts in the United States.

    The IRS did not believe Rotta’s story and assessed millions of dollars of additional taxes as well as penalties and interest against him. Rotta sought to reverse the assessments by filing a false petition in U.S. Tax Court. In that petition, Rotta, through his attorney, falsely denied having any foreign accounts and attached fictitious loan documents. Furthermore, the nominee account owners traveled to the United States to retell the false loan story to IRS attorneys.

    In 2017, after Rotta presented the false evidence that the purported loans had been repaid, the IRS reversed the deficiencies and agreed that he owed no additional tax. Unbeknownst to the IRS, however, the “loan repayments” were fake: the funds that Rotta purportedly repaid went back into accounts that he controlled shortly after the IRS dismissed the suit. Also, as part of the conspiracy, Rotta had his U.S.-based attorneys create sham trust structures that he used to transfer his assets to the United States without alerting the IRS. On paper, it appeared that Rotta’s co-conspirator funded the trusts for Rotta’s benefit. In reality, Rotta funded the trusts with transfers from his Swiss accounts.

    In 2019, Rotta became aware that the IRS would receive additional account records from Switzerland that contradicted the false claims that he had previously made. In an attempt to avoid criminal liability, Rotta applied to participate in the IRS’s voluntary disclosure practice. Under that practice, taxpayers who failed to comply with their tax and reporting obligations could make timely, accurate, and complete disclosures of their conduct, which might offer a path to resolve their non-compliance and limit their criminal exposure. Rotta made false statements in his submission, including falsely claiming that the assets in the Swiss accounts mostly belonged to others, and that any funds provided to him were non-taxable gifts. Rotta also falsely claimed that the nominee account owner gifted Rotta money because that nominee had no children to benefit from the funds. In fact, that nominee had two children.

    In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith for the Southern District of Florida ordered Rotta to serve three years of supervised release. The court will determine restitution at a later date.

    Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C. Field Office made the announcement.

    Special Agents from IRS-CI’s International Tax & Financial Crimes specialty group, a team based out of Washington, D.C., and dedicated to uncovering international tax crimes, investigated the case.

    Senior Litigation Counsels Sean Beaty and Mark Daly, Trial Attorney William Montague, and former Trial Attorney Patrick Elwell of the Tax Division, as well as Senior Litigation Counsel Christopher J. Clark for the Southern District of Florida, prosecuted the case.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: FBI Chicago Announces 2025 Recipient of Director’s Community Leadership Award

    Source: US FBI

    DCLA recipient Reverend Dr. Donovan E. Price Sr. and FBI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta

    The Chicago Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today that Reverend Dr. Donovan E. Price Sr., Th.D., has been named the recipient of the division’s Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA).

    Established in 1990, the DCLA honors individuals and organizations for their efforts in preventing federal crimes and enhancing law enforcement efforts in their communities. This award is given annually to recipients in each of the FBI’s 55 field offices.

    “The FBI is proud to recognize Rev. Dr. Price, who has selflessly stepped in to help others in their greatest hour of need since 2016,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta. “DCLA recipients exemplify the FBI’s commitment of working toward justice in its many forms and protecting society’s most vulnerable members. Rev. Dr. Price’s work across Chicago illustrates the critical nature of local partnerships and the importance of working shoulder-to-shoulder to serve and protect our great communities.”

    Rev. Dr. Price is the founder and executive director of Solutions & Resources, Inc./Street Pastors Chicago, a Chicago-based non-profit focused on providing comprehensive support to individuals affected by violence, particularly through victim advocacy and crisis intervention work. He leads a ministry that assists families and victims of violence with a holistic approach to healing. He assists families in finding resources for the funeral and, in most cases, conducts the funeral. In further assistance to the family and community, his organization helps in providing social services, resources, and, most importantly, an example of love and respect to the family that they can hold on to for the rest of their lives. Rev. Dr. Price is a member of FBI Chicago’s Community Engagement Council and a 2021 Citizens Academy graduate.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Florida Man Sentenced for Decades-Long Scheme to Defraud the IRS

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    A Miami man was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by concealing millions of dollars in assets and income in undisclosed Swiss bank accounts and claiming to the IRS that those assets were not his and instead belonged to foreign nationals.

    The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: between 1985 and 2020, Dan Rotta, a dual Brazilian and U.S. citizen, hid more than $20 million in assets in dozens of secret Swiss accounts at five different Swiss banks, including UBS, Credit Suisse, Bank Bonhôte, and Bank Julius Baer. The accounts were held in his own name, in the names of sham structures, and, in one instance, a pseudonym. Over the years, Rotta earned tens of millions of dollars of income from these assets that he did not report on his tax returns and used to fund his lavish lifestyle. He caused a substantial tax loss to the IRS.

    Rotta employed increasingly elaborate schemes to keep his accounts hidden. Over the years, he kept his accounts open, in part, by falsely representing that he was not a U.S. citizen, leveraging his Brazilian citizenship to claim he was a Brazilian citizen residing in Brazil.

    Starting in 2008, after it was reported publicly that UBS and its bankers were under criminal investigation for helping U.S. taxpayers evade their taxes, Rotta closed his UBS account and moved his funds to Credit Suisse and Bank Bonhôte.

    In 2011, after the IRS obtained records related to one of Rotta’s Swiss accounts, he nominally changed the documentation of his accounts at Credit Suisse and Bank Bonhôte to make it appear that his co-conspirator, a Brazilian national and resident, owned the assets in the accounts. Despite the change, Rotta continued to control the assets and transferred millions of dollars out of those accounts for his use.

    Shortly after Rotta changed the account documentation, the IRS  audited him. During the audit, Rotta falsely denied that he owned the assets in the foreign financial accounts and, instead, claimed that the millions of dollars he withdrew from the accounts were non-taxable loans from foreign nationals. Rotta provided the IRS with fake promissory notes and false affidavits from the foreign nationals to corroborate his claims. During the audit, Rotta continued to use the funds in his foreign accounts to fund his lifestyle in the United States, but to conceal his use of the funds from the IRS, he often routed transfers from his foreign accounts through nominee accounts and attorney trust fund accounts in the United States.

    The IRS did not believe Rotta’s story and assessed millions of dollars of additional taxes as well as penalties and interest against him. Rotta sought to reverse the assessments by filing a false petition in U.S. Tax Court. In that petition, Rotta, through his attorney, falsely denied having any foreign accounts and attached fictitious loan documents. Furthermore, the nominee account owners traveled to the United States to retell the false loan story to IRS attorneys.

    In 2017, after Rotta presented the false evidence that the purported loans had been repaid, the IRS reversed the deficiencies and agreed that he owed no additional tax. Unbeknownst to the IRS, however, the “loan repayments” were fake: the funds that Rotta purportedly repaid went back into accounts that he controlled shortly after the IRS dismissed the suit. Also, as part of the conspiracy, Rotta had his U.S.-based attorneys create sham trust structures that he used to transfer his assets to the United States without alerting the IRS. On paper, it appeared that Rotta’s co-conspirator funded the trusts for Rotta’s benefit. In reality, Rotta funded the trusts with transfers from his Swiss accounts.

    In 2019, Rotta became aware that the IRS would receive additional account records from Switzerland that contradicted the false claims that he had previously made. In an attempt to avoid criminal liability, Rotta applied to participate in the IRS’s voluntary disclosure practice. Under that practice, taxpayers who failed to comply with their tax and reporting obligations could make timely, accurate, and complete disclosures of their conduct, which might offer a path to resolve their non-compliance and limit their criminal exposure. Rotta made false statements in his submission, including falsely claiming that the assets in the Swiss accounts mostly belonged to others, and that any funds provided to him were non-taxable gifts. Rotta also falsely claimed that the nominee account owner gifted Rotta money because that nominee had no children to benefit from the funds. In fact, that nominee had two children.

    In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith for the Southern District of Florida ordered Rotta to serve three years of supervised release. The court will determine restitution at a later date.

    Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C. Field Office made the announcement.

    Special Agents from IRS-CI’s International Tax & Financial Crimes specialty group, a team based out of Washington, D.C., and dedicated to uncovering international tax crimes, investigated the case.

    Senior Litigation Counsels Sean Beaty and Mark Daly, Trial Attorney William Montague, and former Trial Attorney Patrick Elwell of the Tax Division, as well as Senior Litigation Counsel Christopher J. Clark for the Southern District of Florida, prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: TowneBank Reports Second Quarter 2025 Earnings

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Suffolk, Va., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TowneBank (the “Company” or “Towne”) (NASDAQ: TOWN) today reported earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2025 of $38.84 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, compared to $42.86 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. Excluding certain items affecting comparability, core earnings (non-GAAP) were $61.34 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, in the current quarter compared to $42.56 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.

    “Our Company delivered a record revenue quarter highlighting the strength of our Main Street banking strategy. Organic loan growth during the second quarter climbed nearly 5% on an annualized basis while credit trends continue to demonstrate best in class metrics. Our margin expanded 24 basis points during the quarter fueled by our partnership with Village Bank in our Richmond market. As we look ahead, we believe this quarter demonstrates the strength of our diversified revenue model and disciplined approach to strategic partnerships with focused execution. I wish to thank our more than 2,800 family members who work each day to Serve Others and Enrich Lives,” said G. Robert Aston, Jr., Executive Chairman.

    Highlights for Second Quarter 2025:

    • Total revenues were a record $207.44 million, an increase of $32.47 million, or 18.56%, compared to second quarter 2024. Net interest income increased $28.17 million, driven by a combination of increased interest income and lower deposit costs. Additionally, noninterest income increased $4.31 million.
    • Towne successfully completed the acquisition of Village Bank and Trust Financial Corp. and its wholly-owned bank subsidiary, Village Bank (“Village”), in April 2025. Included in that acquisition were $576.57 million in loans, $74.31 million in securities, and $637.49 million in deposits.
    • Total deposits were $15.33 billion, an increase of $1.06 billion, or 7.40%, compared to second quarter 2024. Total deposits increased 4.93%, or $0.72 billion, in comparison to March 31, 2025. Excluding $637.49 million in acquired deposits, total deposits would have increased $418.64 million, or 2.93% compared to the prior year and $82.68 million, or 2.27% on an annualized basis, compared to the linked quarter.
    • Noninterest-bearing deposits increased 10.47%, to $4.75 billion, compared to second quarter 2024 and represented 31.02% of total deposits. Compared to the linked quarter, noninterest-bearing deposits increased 10.22%. The increase includes noninterest-bearing deposits of $238.54 million acquired in the Village transaction.
    • Loans held for investment were $12.36 billion, an increase of $0.91 billion, or 7.93%, compared to June 30, 2024, and $0.71 billion, or 6.07% compared to March 31, 2025. Excluding loans acquired in the quarter, total loans would have increased $331.35 million, or 2.89%, compared to the prior year and $130.35 million, or 4.49% on an annualized basis, compared to the linked quarter.
    • Annualized return on common shareholders’ equity was 7.14% compared to 8.49% in second quarter 2024. Annualized return on average tangible common shareholders’ equity (non-GAAP) was 10.44% compared to 12.16% in second quarter 2024.
    • Net interest margin was 3.38% for the quarter and tax-equivalent net interest margin (non-GAAP) was 3.40%, including purchase accounting accretion of 6 basis points, compared to the prior year quarter net interest margin of 2.86% and tax-equivalent net interest margin (non-GAAP) of 2.89%, including purchase accounting accretion of 5 basis points.
    • Compared to the linked quarter, both net interest margin and spread increased 24 basis points.
    • The effective tax rate was 22.23% in the quarter compared to 15.93% in second quarter 2024 and 13.95% in the linked quarter. The higher tax rate in the current quarter was due to an increase in state tax expense, an adjustment to deferred income tax related to the repurchase of noncontrolling interests in Resort Property Management, and nondeductible expenses related to the Village acquisition. Management expects the tax rate to normalize in the second half of 2025.

    “We were pleased to close our Village Bank partnership and successfully complete the systems integration during the second quarter. Internally, our focus will shift during the second half of the year to closing our recently announced partnership with Old Point. Both of these strategic transactions will provide meaningful earnings momentum as we manage through an uncertain economic environment,” stated William I. Foster III, President and Chief Executive Officer.

    Quarterly Net Interest Income:

    • Net interest income was $137.21 million compared to $109.05 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.
    • On an average basis, loans held for investment, with a yield of 5.56%, represented 75.52% of earning assets at June 30, 2025 compared to a yield of 5.45% and 74.76% of earning assets at June 30, 2024.
    • The cost of interest-bearing deposits was 2.61% for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, compared to 3.32% in second quarter 2024. Interest expense on deposits decreased $13.87 million, or 16.91%, from the prior year quarter driven by decreases in rate.
    • Our total cost of deposits decreased to 1.80% from 2.32% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 due to lower interest-bearing deposit rates. The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee lowered the overnight funds rate a total of 100 basis points in the last four months of 2024.
    • Average interest-earning assets totaled $16.29 billion at June 30, 2025 compared to $15.34 billion at June 30, 2024, an increase of 6.17%. The Company anticipates approximately $885 million in cash flows from its securities portfolio to be available for reinvestment in the next 24 months.
    • Average interest-bearing liabilities totaled $10.80 billion, an increase of $509.83 million, or 4.96%, from prior year, driven by demand and money market deposit growth. Borrowings increased over the linked quarter, driven by debt assumed in the Village acquisition, but were nearly level with prior year.

    Quarterly Provision for Credit Losses:

    • The quarterly provision for credit losses was an expense of $6.41 million compared to a benefit of $177 thousand in the prior year quarter and an expense of $2.42 million in the linked quarter. The provision includes an initial provision for credit losses of $6.24 million related to loans and commitments acquired in the Village transaction.
    • The allowance for credit losses on loans increased $8.06 million in second quarter 2025, compared to the linked quarter, $7.75 million of which resulted from the April 2025 acquisition of Village. In addition to the $6.06 million initial acquisition related provision for the purchased loan portfolio we increased our allowance $1.69 million for purchased credit deteriorated loan marks. Additional allowance increases were primarily driven by loan portfolio growth.
    • Net loan charge-offs were $19 thousand in the quarter, and $626 thousand in the linked quarter, compared to net recoveries of $19 thousand in the prior year quarter.
    • The ratio of net charge-offs to average loans on an annualized basis was 0.00% in both second quarter 2025 and 2024, compared to 0.02% in the linked quarter.
    • The allowance for credit losses on loans represented 1.09% of total loans at June 30, 2025, compared to 1.10% at June 30, 2024, and 1.08% at March 31, 2025. The allowance for credit losses on loans was 16.81 times nonperforming loans compared to 19.08 times at June 30, 2024 and 19.15 times at March 31, 2025.

    Quarterly Noninterest Income:

    • Total noninterest income was $70.23 million compared to $65.92 million in 2024, an increase of $4.31 million, or 6.53%.
    • Total net insurance commissions increased $1.65 million, or 6.85%, to $25.68 million in second quarter 2025 compared to 2024. This increase was primarily attributable to organic growth-related property and casualty commissions.
    • Property management fee revenue was $15.56 million in second quarter 2025, an increase of 8.69%, or $1.24 million, compared to second quarter 2024. The increase was driven by an acquisition in 2024 and changes to our fee structure.
    • Residential mortgage banking income was $13.56 million compared to $13.42 million in second quarter 2024. Loan volume increased to $671.47 million in second quarter 2025 from $626.98 million in second quarter 2024. Residential purchase activity was 92.37% of production volume in the second quarter of 2025 compared to 94.85% in second quarter 2024.
    • At 3.13%, gross margins on residential mortgage sales decreased 5 basis points from the linked quarter and 15 basis points from 3.28% in second quarter 2024.

    Quarterly Noninterest Expense:

    • Total noninterest expense was $150.67 million compared to $123.98 million in 2024, an increase of $26.68 million, or 21.52%. This increase was primarily attributable to acquisition-related expenses and growth in salaries and employee benefits.
    • The April 2025 acquisition of Village and the acquisition of Old Point Financial Corporation expected to be completed third quarter 2025, resulted in $18.74 million in acquisition-related expenses in the quarter.
    • Salaries and benefits expense increased $7.01 million, driven by annual base salary adjustments that went into effect October 2024, higher production incentives, and an increase in banking personnel, primarily related to the Village acquisition.

    Consolidated Balance Sheet Highlights:

    • Total assets were $18.26 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, a $0.75 billion increase compared to $17.51 billion at March 31, 2025. Total assets increased $1.20 billion, or 7.01%, from $17.07 billion at June 30, 2024.
    • Loans held for investment increased $0.91 billion, or 7.93%, compared to prior year and $0.71 billion, or 6.07%, compared to the linked quarter. The Company continues to maintain a strong credit discipline.
    • Mortgage loans held for sale increased $37.98 million, or 18.92%, compared to prior year and $70.23 million, or 41.68%, compared to the linked quarter, driven by production levels.
    • Total deposits increased $1.06 billion, or 7.40%, driven by interest-bearing demand deposits, compared to prior year. In the linked quarter comparison, total deposits increased $0.72 billion, or 4.93%.
    • Noninterest-bearing deposits increased $450.57 million, or 10.47%, compared to prior year and $440.79 million, or 10.22%, compared to the linked quarter.
    • Total borrowings decreased $1.05 million, or 0.36%, compared to second quarter 2024 but increased $10.01 million, or 3.52%, compared to the linked quarter, due to acquired FHLB borrowings and subordinated debt.

    Investment Securities:

    • Total investment securities were $2.78 billion compared to $2.70 billion at March 31, 2025 and $2.49 billion at June 30, 2024. The weighted average duration of the portfolio at June 30, 2025 was 3.2 years. The carrying value of the available-for-sale debt securities portfolio included net unrealized losses of $113.14 million at June 30, 2025, compared to $119.25 million at March 31, 2025 and $172.93 million at June 30, 2024, with the changes in fair value due to the change in interest rates.

    Loans and Asset Quality:

    • Total loans held for investment were $12.36 billion at June 30, 2025, $11.65 billion at March 31, 2025, and $11.45 billion at June 30, 2024. Excluding loans acquired in the quarter, total loans would have increased $331.35 million, or 2.89%, compared to the prior year and $130.35 million, or 4.49% on an annualized basis, compared to the linked quarter. Real estate construction and development loans declined compared to the prior year, but were offset by increases in non-owner and owner occupied real estate and multifamily commercial real estate.
    • Nonperforming assets were $9.29 million, or 0.05% of total assets, compared to $7.16 million, or 0.04%, at June 30, 2024, and $7.37 million, or 0.04%, at the linked quarter end.
    • Nonperforming loans were 0.06% of period end loans at June 30, 2025, June 30, 2024, and the linked quarter end.
    • Foreclosed property consisted of $966 thousand in other real estate owned and $340 thousand in repossessed autos, for a total of $1.31 million in foreclosed property at June 30, 2025, compared to $581 thousand in repossessed autos, for a total of $581 thousand in foreclosed property at June 30, 2024.

    Deposits and Borrowings:

    • Total deposits were $15.33 billion compared to $14.61 billion at March 31, 2025 and $14.27 billion at June 30, 2024. Excluding $0.64 billion in acquired deposits, total deposits would have increased $418.64 million, or 2.93%, compared to the prior year and $82.68 million, or 2.27% on an annualized basis, compared to the linked quarter.
    • The ratio of period end loans held for investment to deposits was 80.63% compared to 79.77% at March 31, 2025 and 80.24% at June 30, 2024.
    • Noninterest-bearing deposits were 31.02% of total deposits at June 30, 2025 compared to 29.53% at March 31, 2025 and 30.15% at June 30, 2024. Noninterest-bearing deposits increased $450.57 million, or 10.47%, compared to June 30, 2024, and $440.79 million, or 10.22%, compared to the linked quarter.
    • Total borrowings were $294.12 million compared to $284.10 million at March 31, 2025 and $295.17 million at June 30, 2024.

    Capital:

    • Common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 11.77%(1).
    • Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of 9.93%(1).
    • Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 11.82%(1).
    • Total risk-based capital ratio of 14.49% (1) .
    • Book value per common share was $29.58 compared to $29.19 at March 31, 2025 and $27.62 at June 30, 2024.
    • Tangible book value per common share (non-GAAP) was $21.98 compared to $22.36 at March 31, 2025 and $20.65 at June 30, 2024.

    (1) Preliminary.

    About TowneBank:
    Founded in 1999, TowneBank is a company built on relationships, offering a full range of banking and other financial services, with a focus of serving others and enriching lives. Dedicated to a culture of caring, Towne values all employees and members by embracing their diverse talents, perspectives, and experiences.

    Today, TowneBank operates over 55 banking offices throughout Hampton Roads and Central Virginia, as well as Northeastern and Central North Carolina – serving as a local leader in promoting the social, cultural, and economic growth in each community. Towne offers a competitive array of business and personal banking solutions, delivered with only the highest ethical standards. Experienced local bankers providing a higher level of expertise and personal attention with local decision-making are key to the TowneBank strategy. TowneBank has grown its capabilities beyond banking to provide expertise through its affiliated companies that include Towne Wealth Management, Towne Insurance Agency, Towne Benefits, TowneBank Mortgage, TowneBank Commercial Mortgage, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices RW Towne Realty, Towne 1031 Exchange, and Towne Vacations. With total assets of $18.26 billion as of June 30, 2025, TowneBank is one of the largest banks headquartered in Virginia.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures:
    This press release contains certain financial measures determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Such non-GAAP financial measures include the following: fully tax-equivalent net interest margin, core operating earnings, core net income, tangible book value per common share, total risk-based capital ratio, tier one leverage ratio, tier one capital ratio, and the tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to assess the performance of TowneBank’s core business and the strength of its capital position. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful additional information about TowneBank to assist investors in evaluating operating results, financial strength, and capitalization. The non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as additional views of the way our financial measures are affected by significant charges for credit costs and other factors. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. The computations of the non-GAAP financial measures used in this presentation are referenced in a footnote or in the appendix to this presentation.

    Forward-Looking Statements:
    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but instead represent only the beliefs, expectations, or opinions of TowneBank and its management regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of such words as: “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional terms, such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “likely,” “probably,” or “possibly.” These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates, and assumptions made by management. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include, among others, competitive pressures in the banking industry that may increase significantly; changes in the interest rate environment that may reduce margins and/or the volumes and values of loans made or held as well as the value of other financial assets held; an unforeseen outflow of cash or deposits or an inability to access the capital markets, which could jeopardize our overall liquidity or capitalization; changes in the creditworthiness of customers and the possible impairment of the collectability of loans; insufficiency of our allowance for credit losses due to market conditions, inflation, changing interest rates or other factors; adverse developments in the financial industry generally, such as the 2023 bank failures, responsive measures to mitigate and manage such developments, related supervisory and regulatory actions and costs, and related impacts on customer and client behavior; general economic conditions, either nationally or regionally, that may be less favorable than expected, resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality and/or a reduced demand for credit or other services; geopolitical instability, including wars, conflicts, trade restrictions and tariffs, civil unrest, and terrorist attacks and the potential impact, directly or indirectly, on our business; the effects of weather-related or natural disasters, which may negatively affect our operations and/or our loan portfolio and increase our cost of conducting business; public health events (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) and governmental and societal responses to them; changes in the legislative or regulatory environment, including changes in accounting standards and tax laws, that may adversely affect our business; our ability to successfully integrate the businesses from recently completed and pending acquisitions, including our pending merger with Old Point Financial Corporation (“Old Point”), to the extent that it may take longer or be more difficult, time-consuming, or costly to accomplish than expected; our ability to close the transaction with Old Point when expected or at all because required approvals and other conditions to closing are not received or satisfied on the proposed terms or on the anticipated schedule; deposit attrition, operating costs, customer losses, and business disruption associated with recently completed or pending acquisitions, including reputational risk and adverse effects on relationships with employees, customers or other business partners, that may be greater than expected; costs or difficulties related to the integration of the businesses we have acquired that may be greater than expected; expected growth opportunities or cost savings associated with recently completed or pending acquisitions may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame; the diversion of management’s attention and time from ongoing business operations and opportunities on merger related matters; cybersecurity threats or attacks, whether directed at us or at vendors or other third parties with which we interact, the implementation of new technologies, and the ability to develop and maintain reliable electronic systems; our competitors may have greater financial resources and develop products that enable them to compete more successfully; changes in business conditions; changes in the securities market; and changes in our local economy with regard to our market area, including any adverse impact of actual and proposed cuts to federal spending, including defense, security and military spending, on the Greater Hampton Roads economy. Any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf speak only as of the date they are made or as of the date indicated, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. For additional information on factors that could materially influence forward-looking statements included in this report, see the “Risk Factors” in TowneBank’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and related disclosures in other filings that have been, or will be, filed by TowneBank with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

    Media contact:
    G. Robert Aston, Jr., Executive Chairman, 757-638-6780
    William I. Foster III, President and Chief Executive Officer, 757-417-6482

    Investor contact:
    William B. Littreal, Chief Financial Officer, 757-638-6813

    TOWNEBANK
    Selected Financial Highlights (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands, except per share data)
         
        Three Months Ended
        June 30,   March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,
        2025       2025       2024       2024       2024  
    Income and Performance Ratios:                  
      Total revenue $ 207,442     $ 192,044     $ 177,160     $ 174,518     $ 174,970  
      Net income   39,269       50,887       41,441       43,126       43,039  
      Net income available to common shareholders   38,837       50,592       41,265       42,949       42,856  
      Net income per common share – diluted   0.51       0.67       0.55       0.57       0.57  
      Book value per common share   29.58       29.19       28.43       28.59       27.62  
      Book value per common share – tangible (non-GAAP)   21.98       22.36       21.55       21.65       20.65  
      Return on average assets   0.86 %     1.19 %     0.95 %     1.00 %     1.01 %
      Return on average assets – tangible (non-GAAP)   0.96 %     1.29 %     1.03 %     1.09 %     1.11 %
      Return on average equity   7.12 %     9.50 %     7.64 %     8.12 %     8.43 %
      Return on average equity – tangible (non-GAAP)   10.39 %     13.08 %     10.68 %     11.42 %     12.03 %
      Return on average common equity   7.14 %     9.57 %     7.70 %     8.18 %     8.49 %
      Return on average common equity – tangible (non-GAAP)   10.44 %     13.21 %     10.79 %     11.54 %     12.16 %
      Noninterest income as a percentage of total revenue   33.85 %     37.27 %     33.36 %     35.66 %     37.68 %
    Regulatory Capital Ratios (1):                  
      Common equity tier 1   11.77 %     12.75 %     12.77 %     12.63 %     12.43 %
      Tier 1   11.82 %     12.87 %     12.89 %     12.76 %     12.55 %
      Total   14.49 %     15.65 %     15.68 %     15.54 %     15.34 %
      Tier 1 leverage ratio   9.93 %     10.61 %     10.36 %     10.38 %     10.25 %
    Asset Quality:                  
      Allowance for credit losses on loans to nonperforming loans 16.81x   19.15x   16.69x   18.70x   19.08x
      Allowance for credit losses on loans to period end loans   1.09 %     1.08 %     1.08 %     1.08 %     1.10 %
      Nonperforming loans to period end loans   0.06 %     0.06 %     0.06 %     0.06 %     0.06 %
      Nonperforming assets to period end assets   0.05 %     0.04 %     0.05 %     0.04 %     0.04 %
      Net charge-offs (recoveries) to average loans (annualized)   — %     0.02 %     0.01 %     0.02 %     — %
      Net charge-offs (recoveries) $ 19     $ 626     $ 382     $ 677     $ (19 )
                         
      Nonperforming loans $ 7,982     $ 6,586     $ 7,424     $ 6,588     $ 6,582  
      Foreclosed property   1,306       786       443       884       581  
      Total nonperforming assets $ 9,288     $ 7,372     $ 7,867     $ 7,472     $ 7,163  
      Loans past due 90 days and still accruing interest $ 210     $ 15     $ 1,264     $ 510     $ 368  
      Allowance for credit losses on loans $ 134,187     $ 126,131     $ 123,923     $ 123,191     $ 125,552  
    Mortgage Banking:                  
      Loans originated, mortgage $ 494,108     $ 300,699     $ 385,238     $ 421,571     $ 430,398  
      Loans originated, joint venture   177,359       144,495       180,188       176,612       196,583  
      Total loans originated $ 671,467     $ 445,194     $ 565,426     $ 598,183     $ 626,981  
      Number of loans originated   1,750       1,181       1,489       1,637       1,700  
      Number of originators   166       161       160       159       169  
      Purchase %   92.37 %     89.94 %     89.46 %     91.49 %     94.85 %
      Loans sold $ 596,009     $ 475,518     $ 629,120     $ 526,998     $ 605,134  
      Rate lock asset $ 2,186     $ 1,880     $ 1,150     $ 1,548     $ 1,930  
      Gross realized gain on sales and fees as a % of loans originated   3.13 %     3.18 %     3.25 %     3.28 %     3.28 %
    Other Ratios:                  
      Net interest margin   3.38 %     3.14 %     2.99 %     2.90 %     2.86 %
      Net interest margin-fully tax-equivalent (non-GAAP)   3.40 %     3.17 %     3.02 %     2.93 %     2.89 %
      Average earning assets/total average assets   90.23 %     90.32 %     90.57 %     90.43 %     90.36 %
      Average loans/average deposits   81.09 %     80.01 %     78.71 %     80.07 %     80.80 %
      Average noninterest deposits/total average deposits   30.88 %     29.68 %     30.14 %     30.19 %     30.06 %
      Period end equity/period end total assets   12.26 %     12.66 %     12.50 %     12.58 %     12.24 %
      Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP)   70.71 %     67.10 %     70.28 %     70.93 %     68.98 %
      (1) Current reporting period regulatory capital ratios are preliminary.            
    TOWNEBANK
    Selected Data (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands)
     
    Investment Securities             % Change
      Q2   Q2   Q1   Q2 25 vs.   Q2 25 vs.
    Available-for-sale securities, at fair value   2025       2024       2025     Q2 24   Q1 25
    U.S. agency securities $ 345,808     $ 281,934     $ 320,190     22.66 %   8.00 %
    U.S. Treasury notes   78,746       27,701       78,184     184.27 %   0.72 %
    Municipal securities   438,490       442,474       439,379     (0.90 )%   (0.20 )%
    Trust preferred and other corporate securities   115,126       88,228       98,463     30.49 %   16.92 %
    Mortgage-backed securities issued by GSEs and GNMA   1,577,325       1,411,883       1,535,217     11.72 %   2.74 %
    Allowance for credit losses   (1,520 )     (1,541 )     (1,262 )   (1.36 )%   20.44 %
    Total $ 2,553,975     $ 2,250,679     $ 2,470,171     13.48 %   3.39 %
    Gross unrealized gains (losses) reflected in financial statements            
    Total gross unrealized gains $ 6,048     $ 1,983     $ 5,909     204.99 %   2.35 %
    Total gross unrealized losses   (119,186 )     (174,911 )     (125,156 )   (31.86 )%   (4.77 )%
    Net unrealized gains (losses) and other adjustments on AFS securities $ (113,138 )   $ (172,928 )   $ (119,247 )   (34.58 )%   (5.12 )%
    Held-to-maturity securities, at amortized cost                  
    U.S. agency securities $ 92,973     $ 102,234     $ 92,805     (9.06 )%   0.18 %
    U.S. Treasury notes   96,250       97,171       96,481     (0.95 )%   (0.24 )%
    Municipal securities   5,414       5,318       5,390     1.81 %   0.45 %
    Trust preferred corporate securities   2,094       2,147       2,107     (2.47 )%   (0.62 )%
    Mortgage-backed securities issued by GSEs   5,201       5,618       5,235     (7.42 )%   (0.65 )%
    Allowance for credit losses   (67 )     (79 )     (68 )   (15.19 )%   (1.47 )%
    Total $ 201,865     $ 212,409     $ 201,950     (4.96 )%   (0.04 )%
                       
    Total gross unrealized gains $ 214     $ 175     $ 176     22.29 %   21.59 %
    Total gross unrealized losses   (5,148 )     (12,880 )     (6,563 )   (60.03 )%   (21.56 )%
    Net unrealized gains (losses) in HTM securities $ (4,934 )   $ (12,705 )   $ (6,387 )   (61.16 )%   (22.75 )%
    Total unrealized gains (losses) on AFS and HTM securities $ (118,072 )   $ (185,633 )   $ (125,634 )   (36.39 )%   (6.02 )%
                  % Change
    Loans Held For Investment Q2   Q2   Q1   Q2 25 vs.   Q2 25 vs.
        2025       2024       2025     Q2 24   Q1 25
    Real estate – construction and development $ 1,072,625     $ 1,190,768     $ 1,006,086     (9.92 )%   6.61 %
    Commercial real estate – owner occupied   1,815,900       1,673,582       1,654,401     8.50 %   9.76 %
    Commercial real estate – non-owner occupied   3,557,175       3,155,958       3,329,728     12.71 %   6.83 %
    Real estate – multifamily   887,083       682,537       841,330     29.97 %   5.44 %
    Residential 1-4 family   1,997,395       1,887,420       1,886,107     5.83 %   5.90 %
    HELOC   480,610       408,273       429,152     17.72 %   11.99 %
    Commercial and industrial business (C&I)   1,370,564       1,297,538       1,337,254     5.63 %   2.49 %
    Government   510,902       517,954       511,676     (1.36 )%   (0.15 )%
    Indirect   579,041       558,216       570,795     3.73 %   1.44 %
    Consumer loans and other   88,378       79,501       86,217     11.17 %   2.51 %
    Total $ 12,359,673     $ 11,451,747     $ 11,652,746     7.93 %   6.07 %
                       
                  % Change
    Deposits Q2   Q2   Q1   Q2 25 vs.   Q2 25 vs.
        2025       2024       2025     Q2 24   Q1 25
    Noninterest-bearing demand $ 4,754,340     $ 4,303,773     $ 4,313,553     10.47 %   10.22 %
    Interest-bearing:                  
    Demand and money market accounts   7,654,317       6,940,086       7,463,355     10.29 %   2.56 %
    Savings   332,108       312,881       312,151     6.15 %   6.39 %
    Certificates of deposits   2,587,951       2,715,848       2,519,489     (4.71 )%   2.72 %
    Total   15,328,716       14,272,588       14,608,548     7.40 %   4.93 %
    TOWNEBANK
    Average Balances, Yields and Rate Paid (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands)
     
      Three Months Ended   Three Months Ended   Three Months Ended
      June 30, 2025   March 31, 2025   June 30, 2024
          Interest   Average       Interest   Average       Interest   Average
      Average   Income/   Yield/   Average   Income/   Yield/   Average   Income/   Yield/
      Balance   Expense   Rate (1)   Balance   Expense   Rate (1)   Balance   Expense   Rate (1)
    Assets:                                  
    Loans (net of unearned income and deferred costs) $ 12,304,172     $ 170,520     5.56 %   $ 11,527,915     $ 153,068     5.38 %   $ 11,471,669     $ 155,374     5.45 %
    Taxable investment securities   2,598,093       23,361     3.60 %     2,478,048       21,301     3.44 %     2,368,476       21,671     3.66 %
    Tax-exempt investment securities   172,083       1,802     4.19 %     176,081       1,860     4.23 %     156,503       1,521     3.89 %
    Total securities   2,770,176       25,163     3.63 %     2,654,129       23,161     3.49 %     2,524,979       23,192     3.67 %
    Interest-bearing deposits   1,045,727       10,241     3.93 %     1,199,650       11,801     3.99 %     1,182,816       14,512     4.93 %
    Mortgage loans held for sale   172,102       2,770     6.44 %     164,358       2,653     6.46 %     165,392       2,945     7.12 %
    Total earning assets   16,292,177       208,694     5.14 %     15,546,052       190,683     4.97 %     15,344,856       196,023     5.14 %
    Less: allowance for loan losses   (131,837 )             (124,265 )             (126,792 )        
    Total nonearning assets   1,896,640               1,790,075               1,764,418          
    Total assets $ 18,056,980             $ 17,211,862             $ 16,982,482          
    Liabilities and Equity:                                  
    Interest-bearing deposits                                  
    Demand and money market $ 7,590,290     $ 42,054     2.22 %   $ 7,279,365     $ 40,606     2.26 %   $ 6,896,176     $ 48,161     2.81 %
    Savings   337,807       704     0.84 %     312,118       714     0.93 %     317,774       845     1.07 %
    Certificates of deposit   2,560,313       25,394     3.98 %     2,540,438       25,813     4.12 %     2,715,615       33,017     4.89 %
    Total interest-bearing deposits   10,488,410       68,152     2.61 %     10,131,921       67,133     2.69 %     9,929,565       82,023     3.32 %
    Borrowings   34,799       (341 )   (3.88 )%     29,606       (300 )   (4.05 )%     100,165       1,627     6.43 %
    Subordinated debt, net   272,448       2,609     3.83 %     260,070       2,304     3.54 %     256,093       2,236     3.49 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities   10,795,657       70,420     2.62 %     10,421,597       69,137     2.69 %     10,285,823       85,886     3.36 %
    Demand deposits   4,685,835               4,276,586               4,267,590          
    Other noninterest-bearing liabilities   387,166               353,665               383,447          
    Total liabilities   15,868,658               15,051,848               14,936,860          
    Shareholders’ equity   2,188,322               2,160,014               2,045,622          
    Total liabilities and equity $ 18,056,980             $ 17,211,862             $ 16,982,482          
    Net interest income (tax-equivalent basis) (4)     $ 138,274             $ 121,546             $ 110,137      
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures                                
                                       
    Tax-equivalent basis adjustment       (1,061 )             (1,068 )             (1,089 )    
    Net interest income (GAAP)     $ 137,213             $ 120,478             $ 109,048      
                                       
    Interest rate spread (2)(4)         2.52 %           2.28 %           1.78 %
    Interest expense as a percent of average earning assets       1.73 %           1.80 %           2.25 %
    Net interest margin (tax-equivalent basis) (3)(4)       3.40 %           3.17 %           2.89 %
    Total cost of deposits         1.80 %           1.89 %           2.32 %
                                       

    (1) Yields and interest income are presented on a tax-equivalent basis using the federal statutory tax rate of 21%.
    (2) Interest spread is the average yield earned on earning assets less the average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities. Fully tax-equivalent.
    (3) Net interest margin is net interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets. Fully tax-equivalent.
    (4) Non-GAAP.

    TOWNEBANK
    Average Balances, Yields and Rate Paid (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands)
     
      Six Months Ended   Six Months Ended
      June 30, 2025   June 30, 2024
          Interest   Average       Interest   Average
      Average   Income/   Yield/   Average   Income/   Yield/
      Balance   Expense   Rate (1)   Balance   Expense   Rate (1)
    Assets:                      
    Loans (net of unearned income and deferred costs) $ 11,918,188     $ 323,586     5.48 %   $ 11,425,496     $ 307,186     5.41 %
    Taxable investment securities   2,538,402       44,662     3.52 %     2,404,564       40,385     3.36 %
    Tax-exempt investment securities   174,071       3,663     4.21 %     159,021       3,071     3.86 %
    Total securities   2,712,473       48,325     3.56 %     2,563,585       43,456     3.39 %
    Interest-bearing deposits   1,122,263       22,042     3.96 %     1,175,069       28,746     4.92 %
    Mortgage loans held for sale   168,251       5,423     6.45 %     141,130       4,661     6.61 %
    Total earning assets   15,921,175       399,376     5.06 %     15,305,280       384,049     5.05 %
    Less: allowance for loan losses   (128,072 )             (127,102 )        
    Total nonearning assets   1,843,652               1,745,180          
    Total assets $ 17,636,755             $ 16,923,358          
    Liabilities and Equity:                      
    Interest-bearing deposits                      
    Demand and money market $ 7,435,687     $ 82,659     2.24 %   $ 6,862,115     $ 96,146     2.82 %
    Savings   325,033       1,419     0.88 %     323,405       1,726     1.07 %
    Certificates of deposit   2,550,430       51,207     4.05 %     2,649,777       62,539     4.75 %
    Total interest-bearing deposits   10,311,150       135,285     2.65 %     9,835,297       160,411     3.28 %
    Borrowings   32,217       (642 )   (3.96 )%     156,270       4,705     5.95 %
    Subordinated debt, net   266,293       4,913     3.69 %     255,986       4,472     3.49 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities   10,609,660       139,556     2.65 %     10,247,553       169,588     3.33 %
    Demand deposits   4,482,341               4,245,847          
    Other noninterest-bearing liabilities   370,508               387,010          
    Total liabilities   15,462,509               14,880,410          
    Shareholders’ equity   2,174,246               2,042,948          
    Total liabilities and equity $ 17,636,755             $ 16,923,358          
    Net interest income (tax-equivalent basis)(4)     $ 259,820             $ 214,461      
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures                    
    Tax-equivalent basis adjustment       (2,129 )             (2,195 )    
    Net interest income (GAAP)     $ 257,691             $ 212,266      
                           
    Interest rate spread (2)(4)         2.41 %           1.72 %
    Interest expense as a percent of average earning assets       1.77 %           2.23 %
    Net interest margin (tax-equivalent basis) (3)(4)       3.29 %           2.82 %
    Total cost of deposits         1.84 %           2.29 %
                           
    (1) Yields and interest income are presented on a tax-equivalent basis using the federal statutory rate of 21%.
    (2) Interest spread is the average yield earned on earning assets less the average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities. Fully tax-equivalent.
    (3) Net interest margin is net interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets. Fully tax-equivalent.
    (4) Non-GAAP.
    TOWNEBANK
    Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (dollars in thousands, except share data)
       
         
      June 30,   December 31,
        2025       2024  
      (unaudited)   (audited)
    ASSETS      
    Cash and due from banks $ 149,462     $ 108,750  
    Interest-bearing deposits at FRB   838,315       1,127,878  
    Interest-bearing deposits in financial institutions   123,911       102,847  
    Total Cash and Cash Equivalents   1,111,688       1,339,475  
    Securities available for sale, at fair value (amortized cost of $2,668,633 and $2,509,970, and allowance for credit losses of $1,520 and $1,326 at June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively)   2,553,975       2,353,365  
    Securities held to maturity, at amortized cost (fair value of $196,998 and $203,883 at June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively)   201,932       212,352  
    Less: allowance for credit losses   (67 )     (77 )
    Securities held to maturity, net of allowance for credit losses   201,865       212,275  
    Other equity securities   12,248       12,100  
    FHLB stock   13,428       12,136  
    Total Securities   2,781,516       2,589,876  
    Mortgage loans held for sale   238,742       200,460  
    Loans, net of unearned income and deferred costs   12,359,673       11,459,055  
    Less: allowance for credit losses on loans   (134,187 )     (123,923 )
    Net Loans   12,225,486       11,335,132  
    Premises and equipment, net   392,056       368,876  
    Goodwill   499,709       457,619  
    Other intangible assets, net   74,186       60,171  
    BOLI   295,434       279,802  
    Other assets   645,779       615,479  
    TOTAL ASSETS $ 18,264,596     $ 17,246,890  
           
    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY      
    Deposits:      
    Noninterest-bearing demand $ 4,754,340     $ 4,253,053  
    Interest-bearing:      
    Demand and money market accounts   7,654,317       7,329,669  
    Savings   332,108       311,841  
    Certificates of deposit   2,587,951       2,542,735  
    Total Deposits   15,328,716       14,437,298  
    Advances from the FHLB   12,838       3,218  
    Subordinated debt, net   260,430       260,001  
    Repurchase agreements and other borrowings   20,847       33,683  
    Total Borrowings   294,115       296,902  
    Other liabilities   402,823       357,063  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES   16,025,654       15,091,263  
    Preferred stock, authorized and unissued shares – 2,000,000   —       —  
    Common stock, $1.667 par value: 150,000,000 shares authorized;      
    75,421,737 and 75,255,205 shares issued at      
    June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively   125,728       125,455  
    Capital surplus   1,130,728       1,122,147  
    Retained earnings   1,057,992       1,007,775  
    Common stock issued to deferred compensation trust, at cost:      
    1,107,681 and 1,046,121 shares at June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively   (23,977 )     (21,868 )
    Deferred compensation trust   23,977       21,868  
    Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)   (83,103 )     (116,045 )
    TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY   2,231,345       2,139,332  
    Noncontrolling interest   7,597       16,295  
    TOTAL EQUITY   2,238,942       2,155,627  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $ 18,264,596     $ 17,246,890  
     
    TOWNEBANK
    Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands, except per share data)
                   
                   
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
      June 30,   June 30,
        2025       2024       2025       2024  
    INTEREST INCOME:              
    Loans, including fees $ 169,772     $ 154,549     $ 322,093     $ 305,523  
    Investment securities   24,850       22,928       47,689       42,924  
    Interest-bearing deposits in financial institutions and federal funds sold   10,241       14,512       22,042       28,746  
    Mortgage loans held for sale   2,770       2,945       5,423       4,661  
    Total interest income   207,633       194,934       397,247       381,854  
    INTEREST EXPENSE:              
    Deposits   68,152       82,023       135,285       160,411  
    Advances from the FHLB   124       942       149       3,380  
    Subordinated debt, net   2,609       2,236       4,913       4,472  
    Repurchase agreements and other borrowings   (465 )     685       (791 )     1,325  
    Total interest expense   70,420       85,886       139,556       169,588  
    Net interest income   137,213       109,048       257,691       212,266  
    PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSSES   6,410       (177 )     8,830       (1,054 )
    Net interest income after provision for credit losses   130,803       109,225       248,861       213,320  
    NONINTEREST INCOME:              
    Residential mortgage banking income, net   13,561       13,422       23,922       23,899  
    Insurance commissions and related income, net   25,677       24,031       52,102       49,570  
    Property management income, net   15,556       14,312       35,056       31,085  
    Service charges on deposit accounts   3,642       3,353       6,969       6,431  
    Credit card merchant fees, net   1,794       1,662       3,491       3,213  
    Investment commissions, net   3,158       2,580       6,233       4,923  
    BOLI   1,992       3,238       3,864       5,080  
    Gain on sale of equity investment   —       —       2,000       —  
    Other income   4,849       3,324       8,158       5,531  
    Net gain on investment securities   —       —       —       74  
    Total noninterest income   70,229       65,922       141,795       129,806  
    NONINTEREST EXPENSE:              
    Salaries and employee benefits   78,362       71,349       153,440       142,726  
    Occupancy   9,791       9,717       19,124       19,139  
    Furniture and equipment   4,770       4,634       9,392       9,112  
    Amortization – intangibles   3,979       3,298       7,005       6,544  
    Software   6,835       7,056       13,128       13,156  
    Data processing   4,510       4,606       8,344       8,522  
    Professional fees   2,539       3,788       5,192       6,968  
    Advertising and marketing   3,228       3,524       7,701       8,106  
    FDIC and other insurance   3,032       2,133       5,893       6,491  
    Acquisition related expenses   18,737       19       19,157       614  
    Other expenses   14,882       13,860       32,825       28,197  
    Total noninterest expense   150,665       123,984       281,201       249,575  
    Income before income tax expense and noncontrolling interest   50,367       51,163       109,455       93,551  
    Provision for income tax expense   11,098       8,124       19,299       15,385  
    Net income $ 39,269     $ 43,039     $ 90,156     $ 78,166  
    Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest   (432 )     (183 )     (727 )     (623 )
    Net income attributable to TowneBank $ 38,837     $ 42,856     $ 89,429     $ 77,543  
    Per common share information              
    Basic earnings $ 0.52     $ 0.57     $ 1.19     $ 1.04  
    Diluted earnings $ 0.51     $ 0.57     $ 1.19     $ 1.03  
    Cash dividends declared $ 0.27     $ 0.25     $ 0.52     $ 0.50  
    TOWNEBANK
    Consolidated Balance Sheets – Five Quarter Trend
    (dollars in thousands, except share data)
     
                       
      June 30,   March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,
        2025       2025       2024       2024       2024  
      (unaudited)   (unaudited)   (audited)   (unaudited)   (unaudited)
    ASSETS                  
    Cash and due from banks $ 149,462     $ 126,526     $ 108,750     $ 131,068     $ 140,028  
    Interest-bearing deposits at FRB   838,315       1,090,555       1,127,878       1,061,596       1,062,115  
    Interest-bearing deposits in financial institutions   123,911       100,249       102,847       103,400       99,303  
    Total Cash and Cash Equivalents   1,111,688       1,317,330       1,339,475       1,296,064       1,301,446  
    Securities available for sale   2,553,975       2,470,171       2,353,365       2,363,176       2,250,679  
    Securities held to maturity   201,932       202,018       212,352       212,422       212,488  
    Less: allowance for credit losses   (67 )     (68 )     (77 )     (77 )     (79 )
    Securities held to maturity, net of allowance for credit losses   201,865       201,950       212,275       212,345       212,409  
    Other equity securities   12,248       12,223       12,100       12,681       13,566  
    FHLB stock   13,428       12,425       12,136       12,134       12,134  
    Total Securities   2,781,516       2,696,769       2,589,876       2,600,336       2,488,788  
    Mortgage loans held for sale   238,742       168,510       200,460       264,320       200,762  
    Loans, net of unearned income and deferred costs   12,359,673       11,652,746       11,459,055       11,412,518       11,451,747  
    Less: allowance for credit losses   (134,187 )     (126,131 )     (123,923 )     (123,191 )     (125,552 )
    Net Loans   12,225,486       11,526,615       11,335,132       11,289,327       11,326,195  
    Premises and equipment, net   392,056       373,111       368,876       365,764       340,348  
    Goodwill   499,709       457,619       457,619       457,619       457,619  
    Other intangible assets, net   74,186       57,145       60,171       63,265       65,460  
    BOLI   295,434       280,344       279,802       279,325       277,434  
    Other assets   645,779       634,437       615,479       572,000       610,791  
    TOTAL ASSETS $ 18,264,596     $ 17,511,880     $ 17,246,890     $ 17,188,020     $ 17,068,843  
    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY                  
    Deposits:                  
    Noninterest-bearing demand $ 4,754,340     $ 4,313,553     $ 4,253,053     $ 4,267,628     $ 4,303,773  
    Interest-bearing:                  
    Demand and money market accounts   7,654,317       7,463,355       7,329,669       6,990,103       6,940,086  
    Savings   332,108       312,151       311,841       319,970       312,881  
    Certificates of deposit   2,587,951       2,519,489       2,542,735       2,785,469       2,715,848  
    Total Deposits   15,328,716       14,608,548       14,437,298       14,363,170       14,272,588  
    Advances from the FHLB   12,838       3,029       3,218       3,405       3,591  
    Subordinated debt, net   260,430       260,198       260,001       256,444       256,227  
    Repurchase agreements and other borrowings   20,847       20,875       33,683       30,970       35,351  
    Total Borrowings   294,115       284,102       296,902       290,819       295,169  
    Other liabilities   402,823       402,252       357,063       371,316       411,770  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES   16,025,654       15,294,902       15,091,263       15,025,305       14,979,527  
                       
    Preferred stock   —       —       —       —       —  
    Common stock, $1.667 par value   125,728       125,679       125,455       125,139       125,090  
    Capital surplus   1,131,536       1,123,330       1,122,147       1,117,279       1,115,759  
    Retained earnings   1,057,184       1,039,518       1,007,775       985,343       961,162  
    Common stock issued to deferred compensation                  
    trust, at cost   (23,977 )     (21,969 )     (21,868 )     (22,224 )     (22,756 )
    Deferred compensation trust   23,977       21,969       21,868       22,224       22,756  
    Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)   (83,103 )     (87,869 )     (116,045 )     (81,482 )     (129,224 )
    TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY   2,231,345       2,200,658       2,139,332       2,146,279       2,072,787  
    Noncontrolling interest   7,597       16,320       16,295       16,436       16,529  
    TOTAL EQUITY   2,238,942       2,216,978       2,155,627       2,162,715       2,089,316  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $ 18,264,596     $ 17,511,880     $ 17,246,890     $ 17,188,020     $ 17,068,843  
    TOWNEBANK
    Consolidated Statements of Income – Five Quarter Trend (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands, except share data)
       
       
      Three Months Ended
      June 30,   March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,
        2025       2025       2024       2024       2024  
    INTEREST INCOME:                  
    Loans, including fees $ 169,772     $ 152,322     $ 154,933     $ 155,792     $ 154,549  
    Investment securities   24,850       22,839       22,236       22,334       22,928  
    Interest-bearing deposits in financial institutions and federal funds sold   10,241       11,801       15,796       15,249       14,512  
    Mortgage loans held for sale   2,770       2,653       3,087       3,247       2,945  
    Total interest income   207,633       189,615       196,052       196,622       194,934  
    INTEREST EXPENSE:                  
    Deposits   68,152       67,133       75,885       82,128       82,023  
    Advances from the FHLB   124       25       26       29       942  
    Subordinated debt, net   2,609       2,304       2,261       2,237       2,236  
    Repurchase agreements and other borrowings   (465 )     (325 )     (177 )     (54 )     685  
    Total interest expense   70,420       69,137       77,995       84,340       85,886  
    Net interest income   137,213       120,478       118,057       112,282       109,048  
    PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSSES   6,410       2,420       1,606       (1,100 )     (177 )
    Net interest income after provision for credit losses   130,803       118,058       116,451       113,382       109,225  
    NONINTEREST INCOME:                  
    Residential mortgage banking income, net   13,561       10,361       11,272       11,786       13,422  
    Insurance commissions and related income, net   25,677       26,424       23,265       25,727       24,031  
    Property management income, net   15,556       19,500       8,186       11,221       14,312  
    Service charges on deposit accounts   3,642       3,327       3,289       3,117       3,353  
    Credit card merchant fees, net   1,794       1,697       1,486       1,830       1,662  
    Investment commissions, net   3,158       3,075       3,195       2,835       2,580  
    BOLI   1,992       1,872       4,478       1,886       3,238  
    Other income   4,849       5,310       3,932       3,834       3,324  
    Total noninterest income   70,229       71,566       59,103       62,236       65,922  
    NONINTEREST EXPENSE:                  
    Salaries and employee benefits   78,362       75,078       74,399       72,123       71,349  
    Occupancy   9,791       9,333       9,819       9,351       9,717  
    Furniture and equipment   4,770       4,621       4,850       4,657       4,634  
    Amortization – intangibles   3,979       3,026       3,095       3,130       3,298  
    Software   6,835       6,293       6,870       6,790       7,056  
    Data processing   4,510       3,835       3,788       4,701       4,606  
    Professional fees   2,539       2,653       3,446       4,720       3,788  
    Advertising and marketing   3,228       4,472       3,359       4,162       3,524  
    Other expenses   36,651       21,225       17,815       17,266       16,012  
    Total noninterest expense   150,665       130,536       127,441       126,900       123,984  
    Income before income tax expense and noncontrolling interest   50,367       59,088       48,113       48,718       51,163  
    Provision for income tax expense   11,098       8,201       6,672       5,592       8,124  
    Net income   39,269       50,887       41,441       43,126       43,039  
    Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest   (432 )     (295 )     (176 )     (177 )     (183 )
    Net income attributable to TowneBank $ 38,837     $ 50,592     $ 41,265     $ 42,949     $ 42,856  
    Per common share information                  
    Basic earnings $ 0.52     $ 0.67     $ 0.55     $ 0.57     $ 0.57  
    Diluted earnings $ 0.51     $ 0.67     $ 0.55     $ 0.57     $ 0.57  
    Basic weighted average shares outstanding   75,240,678       75,149,668       75,034,688       74,940,827       74,925,877  
    Diluted weighted average shares outstanding   75,540,822       75,527,713       75,318,578       75,141,661       75,037,955  
    Cash dividends declared $ 0.27     $ 0.25     $ 0.25     $ 0.25     $ 0.25  
    TOWNEBANK
    Banking Segment Financial Information (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands)
     
                       
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended   Increase/(Decrease)
      June 30,   March 31,   June 30,   YTD 2025 over 2024
        2025       2024       2025       2025       2024     Amount   Percent
    Revenue                          
    Net interest income $ 136,325     $ 108,029     $ 119,584     $ 255,909     $ 210,711     $ 45,198     21.45 %
    Service charges on deposit accounts   3,642       3,353       3,327       6,969       6,431       538     8.37 %
    Credit card merchant fees   1,794       1,662       1,697       3,491       3,213       278     8.65 %
    Investment commissions, net   3,158       2,580       3,075       6,233       4,923       1,310     26.61 %
    Other income   5,750       4,839       6,495       12,244       8,268       3,976     48.09 %
    Subtotal   14,344       12,434       14,594       28,937       22,835       6,102     26.72 %
    Net gain/(loss) on investment securities   —       —       —       —       74       (74 )   (100.00 )%
    Total noninterest income   14,344       12,434       14,594       28,937       22,909       6,028     26.31 %
    Total revenue   150,669       120,463       134,178       284,846       233,620       51,226     21.93 %
                               
    Provision for credit losses   6,212       (170 )     2,367       8,579       (1,146 )     9,725     (848.60 )%
                               
    Expenses                          
    Salaries and employee benefits   52,850       46,640       49,684       102,534       93,113       9,421     10.12 %
    Occupancy   7,342       7,194       6,979       14,321       14,254       67     0.47 %
    Furniture and equipment   4,081       3,810       3,808       7,889       7,458       431     5.78 %
    Amortization of intangible assets   1,969       1,117       981       2,951       2,280       671     29.43 %
    Software   4,427       4,422       4,022       8,449       8,476       (27 )   (0.32 )%
    Data processing   2,840       2,609       2,609       5,448       5,157       291     5.64 %
    Accounting and professional fees   1,934       3,146       2,010       3,944       5,805       (1,861 )   (32.06 )%
    Advertising and marketing   1,883       1,610       2,897       4,780       4,618       162     3.51 %
    FDIC and other insurance   2,676       1,861       2,590       5,267       5,983       (716 )   (11.97 )%
    Acquisition related   17,256       —       420       17,676       147       17,529     N/M
    Other expenses   11,276       9,939       11,971       23,246       20,355       2,891     14.20 %
    Total expenses   108,534       82,348       87,971       196,505       167,646       28,859     17.21 %
    Income before income tax, corporate allocation and noncontrolling interest   35,923       38,285       43,840       79,762       67,120       12,642     18.83 %
    Corporate allocation   1,535       1,232       1,396       2,931       2,301       630     27.38 %
    Income before income tax provision and noncontrolling interest   37,458       39,517       45,236       82,693       69,421       13,272     19.12 %
    Provision for income tax expense   7,814       5,130       4,681       12,495       9,235       3,260     35.30 %
    Net income   29,644       34,387       40,555       70,198       60,186       10,012     16.64 %
    Noncontrolling interest   (124 )     (58 )     42       (82 )     62       (144 )   (232.26 )%
    Net income attributable to TowneBank $ 29,520     $ 34,329     $ 40,597     $ 70,116     $ 60,248     $ 9,868     16.38 %
                               
    Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP)   70.73 %     67.43 %     64.83 %     67.95 %     70.81 %     (2.86 )%   (4.04 )%
    TOWNEBANK
    Mortgage Segment Financial Information (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands)
     
           
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended   Increase/(Decrease)
      June 30,   March 31,   June 30,   YTD 2025 over 2024
        2025       2024       2025       2025       2024     Amount   Percent
    Revenue                          
    Residential mortgage brokerage income, net $ 14,083     $ 13,997     $ 10,580     $ 24,664     $ 24,795     $ (131 )   (0.53 )%
    Income (loss) from unconsolidated subsidiary   83       68       42       125       97       28     28.87 %
    Net interest and other income   1,095       1,230       1,110       2,205       1,999       206     10.31 %
    Total revenue   15,261       15,295       11,732       26,994       26,891       103     0.38 %
                               
    Provision for credit losses   198       (7 )     53       251       92       159     172.83 %
                               
    Expenses                          
    Salaries and employee benefits   7,315       6,803       7,031       14,346       13,459       887     6.59 %
    Occupancy   1,098       1,062       939       2,036       2,124       (88 )   (4.14 )%
    Furniture and equipment   151       149       195       346       327       19     5.81 %
    Amortization of intangible assets   —       144       —       —       287       (287 )   (100.00 )%
    Software   790       876       727       1,517       1,663       (146 )   (8.78 )%
    Data processing   198       170       163       360       318       42     13.21 %
    Accounting and professional fees   157       142       226       383       376       7     1.86 %
    Advertising and marketing   420       448       389       809       830       (21 )   (2.53 )%
    FDIC and other insurance   117       94       96       213       196       17     8.67 %
    Acquisition related   1,481       —       —       1,481       —       1,481     100.00 %
    Other expenses   2,728       2,535       2,461       5,191       4,757       434     9.12 %
    Total expenses   14,455       12,423       12,227       26,682       24,337       2,345     9.64 %
                               
    Income before income tax, corporate allocation and noncontrolling interest   608       2,879       (548 )     61       2,462       (2,401 )   (97.52 )%
    Corporate allocation   (519 )     (490 )     (350 )     (869 )     (838 )     (31 )   3.70 %
    Income before income tax provision and noncontrolling interest   89       2,389       (898 )     (808 )     1,624       (2,432 )   (149.75 )%
    Provision for income tax expense   (41 )     482       (240 )     (281 )     280       (561 )   (200.36 )%
    Net income   130       1,907       (658 )     (527 )     1,344       (1,871 )   (139.21 )%
    Noncontrolling interest   (308 )     (411 )     (117 )     (425 )     (526 )     101     19.20 %
    Net income attributable to TowneBank $ (178 )   $ 1,496     $ (775 )   $ (952 )   $ 818     $ (1,770 )   (216.38 )%
                               
    Efficiency ratio excluding gain on equity investment (non-GAAP)   94.72 %     80.28 %     104.22 %     98.84 %     89.44 %     9.40 %   10.51 %
    TOWNEBANK
    Resort Property Management Segment Financial Information (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands)
     
           
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended   Increase/(Decrease)
      June 30,   March 31,   June 30,   YTD 2025 over 2024
        2025       2024       2025       2025       2024     Amount   Percent
    Revenue                          
    Property management fees, net $ 15,556     $ 14,312     $ 19,500       35,056       31,085       3,971     12.77 %
    Net interest and other income   24       85       13       37       102       (65 )   (63.73 )%
    Total revenue   15,580       14,397       19,513       35,093       31,187       3,906     12.52 %
                               
    Expenses                          
    Salaries and employee benefits   5,250       5,567       5,448       10,698       11,099       (401 )   (3.61 )%
    Occupancy   574       749       614       1,189       1,257       (68 )   (5.41 )%
    Furniture and equipment   385       447       405       791       863       (72 )   (8.34 )%
    Amortization of intangible assets   637       637       637       1,273       1,170       103     8.80 %
    Software   877       923       859       1,736       1,531       205     13.39 %
    Data processing   1,339       1,720       944       2,283       2,822       (539 )   (19.10 )%
    Accounting and professional fees   236       320       126       362       472       (110 )   (23.31 )%
    Advertising and marketing   750       1,333       892       1,641       2,371       (730 )   (30.79 )%
    FDIC and other insurance   113       74       67       180       109       71     65.14 %
    Acquisition related   —       19       —       —       466       (466 )   (100.00 )%
    Other expenses   427       482       2,613       3,040       1,424       1,616     113.48 %
    Total expenses   10,588       12,271       12,605       23,193       23,584       (391 )   (1.66 )%
                               
    Income before income tax, corporate allocation and noncontrolling interest   4,992       2,126       6,908       11,900       7,603       4,297     56.52 %
    Corporate allocation   (316 )     —       (320 )     (636 )     —       (636 )   N/M
    Income before income tax provision and noncontrolling interest   4,676       2,126       6,588       11,264       7,603       3,661     48.15 %
    Provision for income tax expense   1,227       681       1,629       2,856       2,039       817     40.07 %
    Net income   3,449       1,445       4,959       8,408       5,564       2,844     51.11 %
    Noncontrolling interest   —       286       (220 )     (220 )     (159 )     (61 )   (38.36 )%
    Net income attributable to TowneBank $ 3,449     $ 1,731     $ 4,739     $ 8,188     $ 5,405     $ 2,783     51.49 %
                               
    Efficiency ratio excluding gain on equity investment (non-GAAP)   63.87 %     80.81 %     61.33 %     62.46 %     71.87 %     (9.41 )%   (13.09 )%
    TOWNEBANK
    Insurance Segment Financial Information (unaudited)
    (dollars in thousands)
     
                       
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended   Increase/(Decrease)
      June 30,   March 31,   June 30,   YTD 2025 over 2024
        2025       2024       2025       2025       2024     Amount   Percent
    Commission and fee income                          
    Property and casualty $ 23,306     $ 22,225     $ 23,322     $ 46,629     $ 42,947     $ 3,682     8.57 %
    Employee benefits   4,596       4,404       4,725       9,320       9,230       90     0.98 %
    Specialized benefit services   —       —       —       —       9       (9 )   (100.00 )%
    Total commissions and fees   27,902       26,629       28,047       55,949       52,186       3,763     7.21 %
                               
    Contingency and bonus revenue   3,034       2,951       3,620       6,654       7,454       (800 )   (10.73 )%
    Other income   4       6       4       8       17       (9 )   (52.94 )%
    Total revenue   30,940       29,586       31,671       62,611       59,657       2,954     4.95 %
                               
    Employee commission expense   5,008       4,771       5,050       10,058       9,283       775     8.35 %
    Revenue, net of commission expense   25,932       24,815       26,621       52,553       50,374       2,179     4.33 %
                               
    Salaries and employee benefits   12,947       12,339       12,915       25,862       25,055       807     3.22 %
    Occupancy   777       712       801       1,578       1,504       74     4.92 %
    Furniture and equipment   153       228       213       366       464       (98 )   (21.12 )%
    Amortization of intangible assets   1,373       1,400       1,408       2,781       2,807       (26 )   (0.93 )%
    Software   741       835       685       1,426       1,486       (60 )   (4.04 )%
    Data processing   133       107       119       253       225       28     12.44 %
    Accounting and professional fees   212       180       291       503       315       188     59.68 %
    Advertising and marketing   175       133       294       471       287       184     64.11 %
    FDIC and other insurance   126       104       107       233       203       30     14.78 %
    Acquisition related   —       —       —       —       1       (1 )   (100.00 )%
    Other expenses   451       904       900       1,348       1,661       (313 )   (18.84 )%
    Total operating expenses   17,088       16,942       17,733       34,821       34,008       813     2.39 %
    Income before income tax, corporate allocation and noncontrolling interest   8,844       7,873       8,888       17,732       16,366       1,366     8.35 %
    Corporate allocation   (700 )     (742 )     (726 )     (1,426 )     (1,463 )     37     2.53 %
    Income before income tax provision and noncontrolling interest   8,144       7,131       8,162       16,306       14,903       1,403     9.41 %
    Provision for income tax expense   2,098       1,831       2,131       4,229       3,831       398     10.39 %
    Net income   6,046       5,300       6,031       12,077       11,072       1,005     9.08 %
    Noncontrolling interest   —       —       —       —       —       —     — %
    Net income attributable to TowneBank $ 6,046     $ 5,300     $ 6,031     $ 12,077     $ 11,072     $ 1,005     9.08 %
                               
    Provision for income taxes   2,098       1,831       2,131       4,229       3,831       398     10.39 %
    Depreciation, amortization and interest expense   1,489       1,528       1,527       3,016       3,083       (67 )   (2.17 )%
    EBITDA (non-GAAP) $ 9,633     $ 8,659     $ 9,689     $ 19,322     $ 17,986     $ 1,336     7.43 %
                               
    Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP)   60.60 %     62.63 %     61.32 %     60.97 %     61.94 %     (0.97 )%   (1.57 )%
    TOWNEBANK
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
    (dollars in thousands)
             
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
      June 30,   June 30,   March 31,   June 30,   June 30,
        2025       2024       2025       2025       2024  
                       
    Return on average assets (GAAP)   0.86 %     1.01 %     1.19 %     1.02 %     0.92 %
    Impact of excluding average goodwill and other intangibles and amortization   0.10 %     0.10 %     0.10 %     0.10 %     0.09 %
    Return on average tangible assets (non-GAAP)   0.96 %     1.11 %     1.29 %     1.12 %     1.01 %
                       
    Return on average equity (GAAP)   7.12 %     8.43 %     9.50 %     8.29 %     7.63 %
    Impact of excluding average goodwill and other intangibles and amortization   3.27 %     3.60 %     3.58 %     3.44 %     3.32 %
    Return on average tangible equity (non-GAAP)   10.39 %     12.03 %     13.08 %     11.73 %     10.95 %
                       
    Return on average common equity (GAAP)   7.14 %     8.49 %     9.57 %     8.34 %     7.69 %
    Impact of excluding average goodwill and other intangibles and amortization   3.30 %     3.67 %     3.64 %     3.48 %     3.38 %
    Return on average tangible common equity (non-GAAP)   10.44 %     12.16 %     13.21 %     11.82 %     11.07 %
                       
    Book value (GAAP) $ 29.58     $ 27.62     $ 29.19     $ 29.58     $ 27.62  
    Impact of excluding average goodwill and other intangibles and amortization   (7.60 )     (6.97 )     (6.83 )     (7.60 )     (6.97 )
    Tangible book value (non-GAAP) $ 21.98     $ 20.65     $ 22.36     $ 21.98     $ 20.65  
                       
    Efficiency ratio (GAAP)   72.63 %     70.86 %     67.97 %     70.39 %     72.96 %
    Impact of exclusions   (1.92 )%     (1.88 )%     (0.87 )%     (1.41 )%     (1.90 )%
    Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP)   70.71 %     68.98 %     67.10 %     68.98 %     71.06 %
                       
    Average assets (GAAP) $ 18,056,980     $ 16,982,482     $ 17,211,862     $ 17,636,755     $ 16,923,358  
    Less: average goodwill and intangible assets   567,250       525,122       516,661       542,095       523,899  
    Average tangible assets (non-GAAP) $ 17,489,730     $ 16,457,360     $ 16,695,201     $ 17,094,660     $ 16,399,459  
                       
    Average equity (GAAP) $ 2,188,322     $ 2,045,622     $ 2,160,014     $ 2,174,246     $ 2,042,948  
    Less: average goodwill and intangible assets   567,250       525,122       516,661       542,095       523,899  
    Average tangible equity (non-GAAP) $ 1,621,072     $ 1,520,500     $ 1,643,353     $ 1,632,151     $ 1,519,049  
                       
    Average common equity (GAAP) $ 2,180,687     $ 2,029,150     $ 2,143,806     $ 2,162,348     $ 2,026,659  
    Less: average goodwill and intangible assets   567,250       525,122       516,661       542,095       523,899  
    Average tangible common equity (non-GAAP) $ 1,613,437     $ 1,504,028     $ 1,627,145     $ 1,620,253     $ 1,502,760  
                       
    Net income (GAAP) $ 38,837     $ 42,856     $ 50,592     $ 89,429     $ 77,543  
    Amortization of intangibles, net of tax   3,143       2,605       2,391       5,534       5,170  
    Tangible net income (non-GAAP) $ 41,980     $ 45,461     $ 52,983     $ 94,963     $ 82,713  
                       
    Total revenue (GAAP) $ 207,442     $ 174,970     $ 192,044     $ 399,486     $ 342,072  
    Net (gain)/loss on investment securities/equity investments   —       —       (2,000 )     (2,000 )     (74 )
    Total revenue for efficiency calculation (non-GAAP) $ 207,442     $ 174,970     $ 190,044     $ 397,486     $ 341,998  
                       
    Noninterest expense (GAAP) $ 150,665     $ 123,984     $ 130,536     $ 281,201     $ 249,575  
    Less: amortization of intangibles   3,979       3,298       3,026       7,005       6,544  
    Noninterest expense net of amortization (non-GAAP) $ 146,686     $ 120,686     $ 127,510     $ 274,196     $ 243,031  
    TOWNEBANK
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
    (dollars in thousands, except per share data)
                         
                         
    Reconciliation of GAAP Earnings to Operating Earnings Excluding Certain Items Affecting Comparability   Three Months Ended
        June 30,   March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,
          2025       2025       2024       2024       2024  
    Net income available to common shareholders (GAAP)   $ 38,837     $ 50,592     $ 41,265     $ 42,949     $ 42,856  
                         
    Adjustments                    
    Plus: Acquisition-related expenses, net of tax     15,291       389       250       460       18  
    Plus: Initial provision for acquired loans, net of tax     4,926       —       —       —       —  
    Plus: FDIC special assessment, net of tax     —       —       —       —       (310 )
    Plus: Resort Property Management deferred tax adjustment for repurchase of noncontrolling interests     2,286       —       —       —       —  
    Less: Gain on sale of equity investments, net of noncontrolling interest     —       —       (99 )     (16 )     —  
    Total adjustments, net of taxes     22,503       389       151       444       (292 )
    Core operating earnings, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)   $ 61,340     $ 50,981     $ 41,416     $ 43,393     $ 42,564  
    Annualized interest impact of Series IV Notes, net of tax     42       42       —       —       —  
    Core net income for diluted EPS (non-GAAP)   $ 61,382     $ 51,023     $ 41,416     $ 43,393     $ 42,564  
                         
    Weighted average diluted shares     75,540,822       75,527,713       75,318,578       75,141,661       75,037,955  
    Diluted EPS (GAAP)   $ 0.51     $ 0.67     $ 0.55     $ 0.57     $ 0.57  
    Diluted EPS, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)   $ 0.81     $ 0.68     $ 0.55     $ 0.58     $ 0.57  
    Average assets   $ 18,056,980     $ 17,211,862     $ 17,349,128     $ 17,028,141     $ 16,982,482  
    Average tangible equity   $ 1,621,072     $ 1,643,353     $ 1,628,420     $ 1,582,830     $ 1,520,500  
    Average tangible common equity   $ 1,613,437     $ 1,627,145     $ 1,612,087     $ 1,566,455     $ 1,504,028  
    Return on average assets, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)     1.36 %     1.20 %     0.95 %     1.01 %     1.01 %
    Return on average tangible equity, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)     15.95 %     13.17 %     10.72 %     11.53 %     11.95 %
    Return on average common tangible equity, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)     16.03 %     13.30 %     10.82 %     11.65 %     12.08 %
    Efficiency ratio, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)     61.68 %     66.87 %     70.12 %     70.67 %     68.96 %
    TOWNEBANK
    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
    (dollars in thousands, except per share data)
             
             
    Reconciliation of GAAP Earnings to Operating Earnings Excluding Certain Items Affecting Comparability   Six Months Ended
        June 30,   June 30,
          2025       2024  
    Net income (GAAP)   $ 89,429     $ 77,543  
             
    Adjustments        
    Plus: Acquisition-related expenses, net of tax     15,680       582  
    Plus: FDIC special assessment, net of tax     —       711  
    Plus: Initial provision for acquired loans, net of tax     4,926       —  
    Plus: Resort Property Management deferred tax adjustment for repurchase of noncontrolling interests     2,286       —  
    Total adjustments, net of taxes     22,892       1,293  
    Core operating earnings, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)   $ 112,321     $ 78,836  
    Annualized interest impact of Series IV Notes, net of tax     84       —  
    Core net income for diluted EPS (non-GAAP)   $ 112,405     $ 78,836  
    Weighted average diluted shares     75,535,484       75,002,469  
    Diluted EPS (GAAP)   $ 1.19     $ 1.03  
    Diluted EPS, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)   $ 1.49     $ 1.05  
    Average assets   $ 17,636,755     $ 16,923,358  
    Average tangible equity   $ 1,632,151     $ 1,519,049  
    Average tangible common equity   $ 1,620,253     $ 1,502,760  
    Return on average assets, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)     1.28 %     0.94 %
    Return on average tangible equity, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)     14.56 %     11.12 %
    Return on average common tangible equity, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)     14.67 %     11.24 %
    Efficiency ratio, excluding certain items affecting comparability (non-GAAP)     64.16 %     70.88 %
             

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Kandji Announces Vulnerability Response to Bolster Cyber Resilience for Apple Devices in the Enterprise

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIAMI, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kandji, the Apple endpoint security platform, today announced Vulnerability Response, a new feature within their Vulnerability Management product that enables customers to configure accelerated software updates for over 200 Mac applications based on the severity of detected vulnerabilities. With the launch of Vulnerability Response, Kandji boosts efficiency and reduces operational overhead in the enterprise through automated vulnerability remediation.

    According to the Verizon 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), 20% of breaches in 2024 were directly attributed to attackers exploiting known, unpatched vulnerabilities. Despite this, nearly three-quarters of companies take over a month to remediate vulnerabilities after they’ve been detected, giving hackers time to exploit gaps in the environment. While other vulnerability tools tout remediation capabilities, they require the integration of additional tools with separate endpoint agents.

    Vulnerability Response builds upon Kandji’s Vulnerability Management and Device Management solutions to deliver a streamlined approach to endpoint risk reduction. The feature empowers users to set up automated patching using vulnerability severity as a trigger to determine whether an update should be enforced and specify its enforcement timeframe.

    ​”Today’s IT and security teams ​waste hours every day managing tools instead of managing risk,” said Justin Safdie, GM of Endpoint Security at ​Kandji. “Teams are toggling between platforms, creating tickets, and chasing down patches. ​This isn’t just inefficient–it makes it virtually impossible for time-strapped teams to reduce risk at the pace required. K​andji Vulnerability Response eliminates much of the operational overhead by automating the remediation workflow for hundreds of apps, so security professionals can focus on what matters: protecting the business.”

    Key highlights of Kandji’s Vulnerability Response include:

    • Eliminates manual patch management: Instantly trigger updates based on vulnerability severity to save time, reduce human error, and free up teams to focus on strategic work instead of repetitive tasks.
    • Accelerates time-to-remediation and reduces risk exposure: Enforce severity-based update timeframes to ensure vulnerabilities are addressed before attackers can take advantage of them.
    • Maintains superior user experience without sacrificing security: Unified endpoint agent for device management and vulnerability management handles updates with intelligent automation: deploying updates silently when possible, and prompting users to update before the deadline.
    • Automates remediation without extra resources: Meet security and compliance standards by building a repeatable and compliant patch process that doesn’t require extra headcount.

    Kandji Vulnerability Response is the latest cybersecurity solution available to Kandji Vulnerability Management customers. Kandji’s security suite also includes Endpoint Detection & Response, and Device Management.

    For more information please visit: https://www.kandji.io/vulnerability-management/

    Helpful Links

    About Kandji:
    Kandji is the Apple endpoint security platform. With Kandji, devices transform themselves into enterprise-ready endpoints, equipped with proactive threat protection and the right apps and settings. Through advanced automation and thoughtful experiences, Kandji delivers much-needed harmony to the way IT and InfoSec teams keep their organizations secure and productive.

    Media Contact
    Erica Anderson
    pr@kandji.io

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Kandji Announces Vulnerability Response to Bolster Cyber Resilience for Apple Devices in the Enterprise

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIAMI, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kandji, the Apple endpoint security platform, today announced Vulnerability Response, a new feature within their Vulnerability Management product that enables customers to configure accelerated software updates for over 200 Mac applications based on the severity of detected vulnerabilities. With the launch of Vulnerability Response, Kandji boosts efficiency and reduces operational overhead in the enterprise through automated vulnerability remediation.

    According to the Verizon 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), 20% of breaches in 2024 were directly attributed to attackers exploiting known, unpatched vulnerabilities. Despite this, nearly three-quarters of companies take over a month to remediate vulnerabilities after they’ve been detected, giving hackers time to exploit gaps in the environment. While other vulnerability tools tout remediation capabilities, they require the integration of additional tools with separate endpoint agents.

    Vulnerability Response builds upon Kandji’s Vulnerability Management and Device Management solutions to deliver a streamlined approach to endpoint risk reduction. The feature empowers users to set up automated patching using vulnerability severity as a trigger to determine whether an update should be enforced and specify its enforcement timeframe.

    ​”Today’s IT and security teams ​waste hours every day managing tools instead of managing risk,” said Justin Safdie, GM of Endpoint Security at ​Kandji. “Teams are toggling between platforms, creating tickets, and chasing down patches. ​This isn’t just inefficient–it makes it virtually impossible for time-strapped teams to reduce risk at the pace required. K​andji Vulnerability Response eliminates much of the operational overhead by automating the remediation workflow for hundreds of apps, so security professionals can focus on what matters: protecting the business.”

    Key highlights of Kandji’s Vulnerability Response include:

    • Eliminates manual patch management: Instantly trigger updates based on vulnerability severity to save time, reduce human error, and free up teams to focus on strategic work instead of repetitive tasks.
    • Accelerates time-to-remediation and reduces risk exposure: Enforce severity-based update timeframes to ensure vulnerabilities are addressed before attackers can take advantage of them.
    • Maintains superior user experience without sacrificing security: Unified endpoint agent for device management and vulnerability management handles updates with intelligent automation: deploying updates silently when possible, and prompting users to update before the deadline.
    • Automates remediation without extra resources: Meet security and compliance standards by building a repeatable and compliant patch process that doesn’t require extra headcount.

    Kandji Vulnerability Response is the latest cybersecurity solution available to Kandji Vulnerability Management customers. Kandji’s security suite also includes Endpoint Detection & Response, and Device Management.

    For more information please visit: https://www.kandji.io/vulnerability-management/

    Helpful Links

    About Kandji:
    Kandji is the Apple endpoint security platform. With Kandji, devices transform themselves into enterprise-ready endpoints, equipped with proactive threat protection and the right apps and settings. Through advanced automation and thoughtful experiences, Kandji delivers much-needed harmony to the way IT and InfoSec teams keep their organizations secure and productive.

    Media Contact
    Erica Anderson
    pr@kandji.io

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: SOUTHERN MISSOURI BANCORP REPORTS PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR FOURTH QUARTER OF FISCAL 2025; DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND OF $0.25 PER COMMON SHARE; CONFERENCE CALL SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY, JULY 24, AT 9:30 AM CENTRAL TIME

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Poplar Bluff, Missouri, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (“Company”) (NASDAQ: SMBC), the parent corporation of Southern Bank (“Bank”), today announced preliminary net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 of $15.8 million, an increase of $2.3 million or 16.7%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase was primarily attributable to higher net interest income and lower provision for income taxes. This was partially offset by higher provision for credit loss (PCL), noninterest expense, and lower noninterest income. Preliminary net income was $1.39 per fully diluted common share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, an increase of $0.20 as compared to the $1.19 per fully diluted common share reported for the same period of the prior fiscal year. For the full fiscal year 2025, preliminary net income of $58.6 million was an increase of $8.4 million as compared to fiscal 2024, while diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2025 were $5.18, an increase of $0.76 as compared to the $4.42 per fully diluted common share for fiscal 2024.

    Highlights for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025:

    • Earnings per common share (diluted) were $1.39, up $0.20, or 16.8%, as compared to the same quarter a year ago, and remained unchanged from the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter.
    • Annualized return on average assets (ROA) was 1.27%, while annualized return on average common equity (ROE) was 11.8%, as compared to 1.17% and 11.2%, respectively, in the same quarter a year ago, and 1.27% and 12.1%, respectively, in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter.
    • Net interest margin for the quarter was 3.46%, up from the 3.25% reported for the year ago period, and up from 3.39% reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter. Net interest income increased $5.2 million, or 14.9% as compared to the same quarter a year ago, and increased $854,000, or 2.2% as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter.
    • Noninterest income was down 6.3% for the quarter, as compared to the year ago period, but up 9.2% as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter. The decrease compared to the year ago period was primarily due to tax credit benefits recorded in the prior fiscal year as noninterest income, but recognized in the current period as a direct reduction from the provision for income taxes under the proportional amortization method of ASU 2023-02. In addition, the Company realized a modest negative adjustment to the value of mortgage servicing rights. The increase in non-interest income compared to the linked quarter was largely due to additional card network fees based on volume incentives totaling $537,000.
    • Gross loan balances increased by $76.2 million during the fourth quarter, and increased by $249.9 million, or 6.5% during all of fiscal 2025.
    • PCL was $2.5 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, a $1.6 million increase from both the year ago period and the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter. The increase was primarily driven by higher net charge-offs, largely stemming from a previously identified non-performing special-purpose commercial real estate credit relationship disclosed in the prior quarter and to support loan growth. See “Balance Sheet Summary” below for more detailed information regarding this credit relationship.
    • Deposit balances increased by $19.9 million during the fourth quarter, and increased by $338.3 million, or 8.6% during all of fiscal 2025.
    • Cash equivalents and time deposits balances decreased by $34.0 million during the fourth quarter, and increased $131.7 million during all of fiscal 2025, which was driven by deposit growth and earnings retention after cash dividends paid outpacing gross loan and other asset growth.
    • Tangible book value per share was $41.87, having increased by $5.19, or 14.1%, as compared to June 30, 2024.

    Dividend Declared:

    The Board of Directors, on July 22, 2025, declared a quarterly cash dividend on common stock of $0.25 per share, payable August 29, 2025, to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 15, 2025, marking the 125th consecutive quarterly dividend since the inception of the Company. The dividend represents an increase of $0.02 per share, or 8.7%, as compared to the previous quarterly dividend payment. The Board of Directors and management believe the payment of a quarterly cash dividend enhances stockholder value and demonstrates our commitment to and confidence in our future prospects.

    Conference Call:

    The Company will host a conference call to review the information provided in this press release on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., central time. The call will be available live to interested parties by calling 1-833-470-1428 in the United States and from all other locations. Participants should use participant access code 617584. Telephone playback will be available beginning one hour following the conclusion of the call through July 29, 2025. The playback may be accessed by dialing 1-866-813-9403, and using the conference passcode 612450.

    Balance Sheet Summary:

    The Company experienced balance sheet growth in fiscal 2025, with total assets of $5.0 billion at June 30, 2025, reflecting an increase of $415.3 million, or 9.0%, as compared to June 30, 2024. Growth primarily reflected an increase in net loans receivable, cash equivalents, and available-for-sale (AFS) securities.

    Cash equivalents and time deposits were $193.1 million at June 30, 2025, an increase of $131.7 million, or 214.5%, as compared to June 30, 2024. Compared to March 31, 2025, the linked quarter, cash equivalents decreased $34.0 million, or 15.0%, primarily utilized to fund loan growth, which was partially offset by deposit growth and earnings retention after cash dividends paid. AFS securities were $460.8 million at June 30, 2025, up $32.9 million, or 7.7%, as compared to June 30, 2024.

    Loans, net of the allowance for credit losses (ACL), were $4.0 billion at June 30, 2025, an increase of $250.8 million, or 6.6%, as compared to June 30, 2024. Gross loans increased by $249.9 million, while the ACL attributable to outstanding loan balances decreased $887,000, or 1.7%, as compared to June 30, 2024. The increase in loan balances was attributable to growth in residential real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, drawn construction loan balances, multi-family real estate loans, and agricultural production draws. This was partially offset by payoffs and paydowns in non-owner occupied commercial real estate and consumer loans. The table below illustrates changes in loan balances by type over recent periods:

                                   
    Summary Loan Data as of:      June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,
    (dollars in thousands)   2025   2025   2024   2024   2024
                                   
    1-4 residential real estate   $ 991,553   $ 978,908   $ 967,196   $ 942,916   $ 925,397
    Non-owner occupied commercial real estate     888,317     897,125     882,484     903,678     899,770
    Owner occupied commercial real estate     442,984     440,282     435,392     438,030     427,476
    Multi-family real estate     422,758     405,445     376,081     371,177     384,564
    Construction and land development     332,405     323,499     393,388     351,481     290,541
    Agriculture real estate     244,983     247,027     239,912     239,787     232,520
    Total loans secured by real estate     3,323,000     3,292,286     3,294,453     3,247,069     3,160,268
                                   
    Commercial and industrial     510,259     488,116     484,799     457,018     450,147
    Agriculture production     206,128     186,058     188,284     200,215     175,968
    Consumer     55,387     54,022     56,017     58,735     59,671
    All other loans     5,102     3,216     3,628     3,699     3,981
    Total loans     4,099,876     4,023,698     4,027,181     3,966,736     3,850,035
                                   
    Deferred loan fees, net     (178)     (189)     (202)     (218)     (232)
    Gross loans     4,099,698     4,023,509     4,026,979     3,966,518     3,849,803
    Allowance for credit losses     (51,629)     (54,940)     (54,740)     (54,437)     (52,516)
    Net loans   $ 4,048,069   $ 3,968,569   $ 3,972,239   $ 3,912,081   $ 3,797,287

    Loans anticipated to fund in the next 90 days totaled $224.1 million at June 30, 2025, as compared to $163.3 million at March 31, 2025, and $157.1 million at June 30, 2024.

    The Bank’s concentration in non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans is estimated at 301.9% of Tier 1 capital and ACL at June 30, 2025, as compared to 317.5% as of June 30, 2024, with these loans representing 40.1% of total loans at June 30, 2025. Multi-family residential real estate, hospitality (hotels/restaurants), care facilities, strip centers, retail stand-alone, and storage units are the most common collateral types within the non-owner occupied commercial real estate loan portfolio. The multi-family residential real estate loan portfolio commonly includes loans collateralized by properties currently in the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program or that have exited the program. The hospitality and retail stand-alone segments include primarily franchised businesses; care facilities consisting mainly of skilled nursing and assisted living centers; and strip centers, which can be defined as non-mall shopping centers with a variety of tenants. Non-owner occupied office property types included 33 loans totaling $24.3 million, or 0.59% of total loans at June 30, 2025, none of which were adversely classified as of June 30, 2025, and are generally comprised of smaller spaces with diverse tenants. The Company continues to monitor its commercial real estate concentration and the individual segments closely.

    Nonperforming loans (NPLs) were $23.0 million, or 0.56% of gross loans, at June 30, 2025, as compared to $6.7 million, or 0.17% of gross loans, at June 30, 2024. Nonperforming assets (NPAs) were $23.7 million, or 0.47% of total assets, at June 30, 2025, as compared to $10.6 million, or 0.23% of total assets, at June 30, 2024. The rise in NPAs reflects an increase in NPLs, which was partially offset by a decrease in other real estate owned. Compared to March 31, 2025, the linked quarter, NPAs declined $104,000. The year-over-year increase in NPLs was primarily driven by several commercial relationships added during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2025, along with the addition of other smaller loans throughout the year, partially offset by net charge-offs. In the fourth quarter, a $5.7 million construction loan related to the development of a senior living facility was placed on nonaccrual status. As previously disclosed in the third quarter, three commercial loans with common guarantors, which are primarily secured by two non-owner-occupied, special-purpose commercial properties located in different states, were also added to NPLs. These properties, which were previously leased to a single tenant that has since become insolvent, are now vacant. Some guarantors are shared across these three loans. The total balance of these three loans at fiscal year end 2025 was $6.2 million, after recognition of $3.8 million charge-offs in the current quarter that were previously reserved for in the linked quarter.

    The ACL at June 30, 2025, totaled $51.6 million, representing 1.26% of gross loans and 224% of nonperforming loans, as compared to an ACL of $52.5 million, representing 1.36% of gross loans and 786% of nonperforming loans, at June 30, 2024. The Company has estimated its expected credit losses as of June 30, 2025, under ASC 326-20, and management believes the ACL as of that date was adequate based on that estimate. There remains, however, significant uncertainty as borrowers adjust to relatively high market interest rates, although the Federal Reserve has reduced short-term rates somewhat during this fiscal year. The decrease in the ACL was primarily attributable to net charge-offs, which reduced the required reserves for individually evaluated loans, as well as a decline in certain qualitative adjustments relevant to assessing expected credit losses. This decrease was partially offset by higher required reserves for pooled loans, reflecting management’s updated view of a deteriorating economic outlook and an increase in modeled loss drivers compared to the prior assessment as of June 30, 2024. Additional provisions were also recorded to support loan growth and overdraft exposures during fiscal year 2025. As a percentage of average loans outstanding, the Company recorded net charge offs of 0.53% (annualized) during the current quarter, as compared to 0.06% for the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. In the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, net charge offs were $5.3 million, with the increase from prior periods primarily attributable to the $3.8 million special-purpose CRE charge off noted above, and a $742,000 commercial and industrial charge off related to a commercial contractor. For fiscal year 2025, net charge offs as a percentage of average loans were 0.17%, as compared to 0.05% for fiscal year 2024.

    Total liabilities were $4.5 billion at June 30, 2025, an increase of $359.3 million, or 8.7%, as compared to June 30, 2024. Growth primarily reflected increases in total deposits, other liabilities, accrued interest and income taxes payable, and securities sold under agreement to repurchase.

    Deposits were $4.3 billion at June 30, 2025, an increase of $338.3 million, or 8.6%, as compared to June 30, 2024. The deposit portfolio saw increases in certificates of deposit and savings accounts, as customers remained willing to move balances into special rate time deposits and high yield savings accounts in the higher rate environment. Public unit balances totaled $550.8 million at June 30, 2025, a decrease of $43.8 million compared to June 30, 2024, mostly due to the Company losing the bid to retain a larger local public unit depositor early in the fiscal year. Brokered deposits totaled $233.6 million at June 30, 2025, an increase of $61.9 million as compared to June 30, 2024. The average loan-to-deposit ratio for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was 94.5%, as compared to 96.3% for the same period of the prior fiscal year. The period end loan-to-deposit ratios were 95.8% and 97.6% as of June 30, 2024, and 2025, respectively. The table below illustrates changes in deposit balances by type over recent periods:    

                                   
    Summary Deposit Data as of:      June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,
    (dollars in thousands)   2025   2025   2024   2024   2024
                                   
    Non-interest bearing deposits   $ 508,110   $ 513,418   $ 514,199   $ 503,209   $ 514,107
    NOW accounts     1,132,298     1,167,296     1,211,402     1,128,917     1,239,663
    MMDAs – non-brokered     329,837     345,810     347,271     320,252     334,774
    Brokered MMDAs     1,414     2,013     3,018     12,058     2,025
    Savings accounts     661,115     626,175     573,291     556,030     517,084
    Total nonmaturity deposits     2,632,774     2,654,712     2,649,181     2,520,466     2,607,653
                                   
    Certificates of deposit – non-brokered     1,414,945     1,373,109     1,310,421     1,258,583     1,163,650
    Brokered certificates of deposit     233,649     233,561     251,025     261,093     171,756
    Total certificates of deposit     1,648,594     1,606,670     1,561,446     1,519,676     1,335,406
                                   
    Total deposits   $ 4,281,368   $ 4,261,382   $ 4,210,627   $ 4,040,142   $ 3,943,059
                                   
    Public unit nonmaturity accounts   $ 435,632   $ 472,010   $ 482,406   $ 447,638   $ 541,445
    Public unit certificates of deposit     115,204     103,741     83,506     62,882     53,144
    Total public unit deposits   $ 550,836   $ 575,751   $ 565,912   $ 510,520   $ 594,589

    FHLB advances were $104.1 million at June 30, 2025, an increase of $2.0 million, or 2.0%, as compared to June 30, 2024.

    The Company’s stockholders’ equity was $544.7 million at June 30, 2025, an increase of $55.9 million, or 11.4%, as compared to June 30, 2024. The increase was attributable primarily to earnings retained after cash dividends paid, in combination with a $6.1 million reduction in accumulated other comprehensive losses (AOCL) as the market value of the Company’s investments appreciated due to the decrease in market interest rates. The AOCL totaled $11.4 million at June 30, 2025, as compared to $17.5 million at June 30, 2024. The Company does not hold any securities classified as held-to-maturity.    

    Quarterly Income Statement Summary:

    The Company’s net interest income for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, was $40.3 million, an increase of $5.2 million, or 14.9%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase was attributable to a 7.9% increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets in the current three-month period compared to the same period a year ago, and an increase of 21 basis points in the net interest margin, from 3.25% to 3.46%. The primary driver of the net interest margin expansion, compared to the year ago period, was the cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreasing 20 basis points, while the yield on interest-earning assets increased seven basis points. The overall increase in spread of 27 basis points was partially offset by a lower level of average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities totaling 120.6% at June 30, 2025, down 1.1 percentage points compared to the year ago period, due to stronger deposit growth.

    Loan discount accretion and deposit premium amortization related to the November 2018 acquisition of First Commercial Bank, the May 2020 acquisition of Central Federal Savings & Loan Association, the February 2022 merger of FortuneBank, and the January 2023 acquisition of Citizens Bank & Trust resulted in $612,000 in net interest income for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, as compared to $1.1 million in net interest income for the same period a year ago. Combined, this component of net interest income contributed five basis points to net interest margin in the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, as compared to a ten basis point contribution for the same period of the prior fiscal year, and as compared to a 13-basis point contribution in the linked quarter, ended March 31, 2025, when net interest margin was 3.39%.

    The Company recorded a PCL of $2.5 million in the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, as compared to a PCL of $900,000 in the same period of the prior fiscal year. The current period PCL was the result of a $2.0 million provision attributable to the ACL for loan balances outstanding and a $475,000 provision attributable to the allowance for off-balance sheet credit exposures. The increase was primarily attributable to providing for net charge-offs and to support loan growth, in addition to an increase in unfunded balances and an increase in the expected funding rate on available credit.

    The Company’s noninterest income for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, was $7.3 million, a decrease of $487,000, or 6.3%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The decrease was attributable to lower other noninterest income and loan servicing fees. The decrease in other noninterest income was associated with the change in accounting for realization of tax credits, as the Company has adopted the proportional amortization method under ASU 2023-02, which results in a direct reduction to the provision for income taxes in fiscal 2025. The tax credit benefit recognized in other noninterest income in the three-month period ended June 2024 was $675,000. Loan servicing fees were negatively impacted by the recognition of a change in the fair value of mortgage servicing rights, which in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 resulted in a negative adjustment of $108,000, as compared to a benefit of $131,000 in the same period a year ago, due to changes in market rates and prepayment assumptions. These decreases as compared to the prior year period were partially offset by increases in other loan fees attributable to increased loan originations and higher deposit account charges and related fees primarily attributable to an increase in non-sufficient fund activity and an increase in maintenance and activity fees collected.

    Noninterest expense for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, was $26.0 million, an increase of $974,000, or 3.9%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase as compared to the year-ago period was primarily attributable to increases in legal and professional fees, data processing expense, and other noninterest expense. The Company experienced elevated legal and professional fees associated with consulting costs to negotiate a new contract with a large vendor totaling $425,000. Data processing expense increased due to an increase in third party ancillary software expenses and one-time reclassification of data processing expenses to other categories in the year-ago period. The increase in other noninterest expense was primarily due to card fraud losses and deposit product expenses. These increases as compared to the prior year period were partially offset by decreases in intangible amortization expense, as the core deposit intangible recognized in an older merger was fully amortized in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, and by reduced telecommunication expenses.

    The efficiency ratio for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, was 54.6%, as compared to 58.3% in the same period of the prior fiscal year. The improvement was attributable to net interest income growing faster than operating expenses.

    The income tax provision was $3.4 million for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, and for the same period of the prior fiscal year. The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 was 17.5%, as compared to 20.2% in the same period of the prior fiscal year. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily attributable to a $701,000 income tax benefit from the recognition of tax credits utilizing the proportional amortization method under ASC 2023-02. In the same period of the prior fiscal year, similar benefits were recognized through noninterest income.

    Forward-Looking Information:

    Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including: potential adverse impacts to the economic conditions in the Company’s local market areas, other markets where the Company has lending relationships, or other aspects of the Company’s business operations or financial markets, expected cost savings, synergies and other benefits from our merger and acquisition activities might not be realized to the extent expected, within the anticipated time frames, or at all, and costs or difficulties relating to integration matters, including but not limited to customer and employee retention and labor shortages, might be greater than expected and goodwill impairment charges might be incurred; the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of local economies in which we conduct operations; fluctuations in interest rates and the possibility of a recession; monetary and fiscal policies of the FRB and the U.S. Government and other governmental initiatives affecting the financial services industry; potential imposition of new or increased tariffs or changes to existing trade policies that could affect economic activity or specific industry sectors; the risks of lending and investing activities, including changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and write-offs and changes in estimates of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses; our ability to access cost-effective funding; the timely development and acceptance of our new products and services and the perceived overall value of these products and services by users, including the features, pricing and quality compared to competitors’ products and services; fluctuations in real estate values in both residential and commercial real estate markets, as well as agricultural business conditions; demand for loans and deposits; legislative or regulatory changes that adversely affect our business; changes in accounting principles, policies, or guidelines; results of regulatory examinations, including the possibility that a regulator may, among other things, require an increase in our reserve for credit losses or write-down of assets; the impact of technological changes; and our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing. Any forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs and assumptions at the time they are made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking statements discussed might not occur, and you should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.   

    Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc.
    UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

                                     
    Summary Balance Sheet Data as of:      June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,  
    (dollars in thousands, except per share data)   2025   2025   2024   2024   2024  
                                     
    Cash equivalents and time deposits   $ 193,105   $ 227,136   $ 146,078   $ 75,591   $ 61,395  
    Available for sale (AFS) securities     460,844     462,930     468,060     420,209     427,903  
    FHLB/FRB membership stock     18,500     18,269     18,099     18,064     17,802  
    Loans held for sale     431     —     —     —     —  
    Loans receivable, gross     4,099,698     4,023,509     4,026,979     3,966,518     3,849,803  
    Allowance for credit losses     51,629     54,940     54,740     54,437     52,516  
    Loans receivable, net     4,048,069     3,968,569     3,972,239     3,912,081     3,797,287  
    Bank-owned life insurance     75,691     75,156     74,643     74,119     73,601  
    Intangible assets     73,721     74,677     75,399     76,340     77,232  
    Premises and equipment     95,982     95,987     96,418     96,087     95,952  
    Other assets     53,264     53,772     56,738     56,709     53,144  
    Total assets   $ 5,019,607   $ 4,976,496   $ 4,907,674   $ 4,729,200   $ 4,604,316  
                                     
    Interest-bearing deposits   $ 3,773,258   $ 3,747,964   $ 3,696,428   $ 3,536,933   $ 3,428,952  
    Noninterest-bearing deposits     508,110     513,418     514,199     503,209     514,107  
    Securities sold under agreements to repurchase     15,000     15,000     15,000     15,000     9,398  
    FHLB advances     104,072     104,072     107,070     107,069     102,050  
    Other liabilities     51,267     44,057     39,424     38,191     37,905  
    Subordinated debt     23,208     23,195     23,182     23,169     23,156  
    Total liabilities     4,474,915     4,447,706     4,395,303     4,223,571     4,115,568  
                                     
    Total stockholders’ equity     544,692     528,790     512,371     505,629     488,748  
                                     
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 5,019,607   $ 4,976,496   $ 4,907,674   $ 4,729,200   $ 4,604,316  
                                     
    Equity to assets ratio     10.85 %     10.63 %     10.44 %     10.69 %     10.61 %
                                     
    Common shares outstanding     11,299,467     11,299,962     11,277,167     11,277,167     11,277,737  
    Less: Restricted common shares not vested     50,163     50,658     46,653     56,553     57,956  
    Common shares for book value determination     11,249,304     11,249,304     11,230,514     11,220,614     11,219,781  
                                     
    Book value per common share   $ 48.42   $ 47.01   $ 45.62   $ 45.06   $ 43.56  
    Less: Intangible assets per common share     6.55     6.64     6.71     6.80     6.88  
    Tangible book value per common share (1)     41.87     40.37     38.91     38.26     36.68  
    Closing market price     54.78     52.02     57.37     56.49     45.01  

    (1)   Non-GAAP financial measure.

                                     
    Nonperforming asset data as of:      June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,  
    (dollars in thousands)   2025   2025   2024   2024   2024  
                                     
    Nonaccrual loans   $ 23,040   $ 21,970   $ 8,309   $ 8,206   $ 6,680  
    Accruing loans 90 days or more past due     —     —     —     —     —  
    Total nonperforming loans     23,040     21,970     8,309     8,206     6,680  
    Other real estate owned (OREO)     625     1,775     2,423     3,842     3,865  
    Personal property repossessed     32     56     37     21     23  
    Total nonperforming assets   $ 23,697   $ 23,801   $ 10,769   $ 12,069   $ 10,568  
                                     
    Total nonperforming assets to total assets     0.47 %     0.48 %     0.22 %     0.26 %     0.23 %  
    Total nonperforming loans to gross loans     0.56 %     0.55 %     0.21 %     0.21 %     0.17 %  
    Allowance for credit losses to nonperforming loans     224.08 %     250.07 %     658.80 %     663.38 %     786.17 %  
    Allowance for credit losses to gross loans     1.26 %     1.37 %     1.36 %     1.37 %     1.36 %  
                                     
    Performing modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty   $ 26,642   $ 23,304   $ 24,083   $ 24,340   $ 24,602  
                                   
        For the three-month period ended
    Quarterly Summary Income Statement Data:   June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,
    (dollars in thousands, except per share data)      2025   2025   2024   2024   2024
                                   
    Interest income:                                   
    Cash equivalents   $ 1,698   $ 1,585   $ 784   $ 78   $ 541
    AFS securities and membership stock     5,586     5,684     5,558     5,547     5,677
    Loans receivable     63,354     62,656     63,082     61,753     58,449
    Total interest income     70,638     69,925     69,424     67,378     64,667
    Interest expense:                              
    Deposits     28,644     28,795     29,538     28,796     27,999
    Securities sold under agreements to repurchase     191     189     226     160     125
    FHLB advances     1,080     1,076     1,099     1,326     1,015
    Subordinated debt     390     386     418     435     433
    Total interest expense     30,305     30,446     31,281     30,717     29,572
    Net interest income     40,333     39,479     38,143     36,661     35,095
    Provision for credit losses     2,500     932     932     2,159     900
    Noninterest income:                              
    Deposit account charges and related fees     2,156     2,048     2,237     2,184     1,978
    Bank card interchange income     1,839     1,341     1,301     1,499     1,770
    Loan late charges     —     —     —     —     170
    Loan servicing fees     167     224     232     286     494
    Other loan fees     917     843     944     1,063     617
    Net realized gains on sale of loans     143     114     133     361     97
    Net realized gains (losses) on sale of AFS securities     —     48     —     —     —
    Earnings on bank owned life insurance     533     512     522     517     498
    Insurance brokerage commissions     368     340     300     287     331
    Wealth management fees     825     902     843     730     838
    Other noninterest income     332     294     353     247     974
    Total noninterest income     7,280     6,666     6,865     7,174     7,767
    Noninterest expense:                              
    Compensation and benefits     13,852     13,771     13,737     14,397     13,894
    Occupancy and equipment, net     3,745     3,869     3,585     3,689     3,790
    Data processing expense     2,573     2,359     2,224     2,171     1,929
    Telecommunications expense     312     330     354     428     468
    Deposit insurance premiums     601     674     588     472     638
    Legal and professional fees     1,165     603     619     1,208     516
    Advertising     551     530     442     546     640
    Postage and office supplies     336     350     283     306     308
    Intangible amortization     857     889     897     897     1,018
    Foreclosed property expenses, net     (18)     37     73     12     52
    Other noninterest expense     2,002     1,979     2,074     1,715     1,749
    Total noninterest expense     25,976     25,391     24,876     25,841     25,002
    Net income before income taxes     19,137     19,822     19,200     15,835     16,960
    Income taxes     3,351     4,139     4,547     3,377     3,430
    Net income     15,786     15,683     14,653     12,458     13,530
    Less: Distributed and undistributed earnings allocated                              
    to participating securities     71     71     61     62     69
    Net income available to common shareholders   $ 15,715   $ 15,612   $ 14,592   $ 12,396   $ 13,461
                                   
    Basic earnings per common share   $ 1.40   $ 1.39   $ 1.30   $ 1.10   $ 1.19
    Diluted earnings per common share     1.39     1.39     1.30     1.10     1.19
    Dividends per common share     0.23     0.23     0.23     0.23     0.21
    Average common shares outstanding:                              
    Basic     11,250,000     11,238,000     11,231,000     11,221,000     11,276,000
    Diluted     11,270,000     11,262,000     11,260,000     11,240,000     11,283,000
                                     
        For the three-month period ended  
    Quarterly Average Balance Sheet Data:   June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,  
    (dollars in thousands)      2025   2025   2024   2024   2024  
                                     
    Interest-bearing cash equivalents   $ 151,380   $ 143,206   $ 64,976   $ 5,547   $ 39,432  
    AFS securities and membership stock     498,491     508,642     479,633     460,187     476,198  
    Loans receivable, gross     4,018,769     4,003,552     3,989,643     3,889,740     3,809,209  
    Total interest-earning assets     4,668,640     4,655,400     4,534,252     4,355,474     4,324,839  
    Other assets     299,217     290,739     291,217     283,056     285,956  
    Total assets   $ 4,967,857   $ 4,946,139   $ 4,825,469   $ 4,638,530   $ 4,610,795  
                                     
    Interest-bearing deposits   $ 3,727,836   $ 3,737,849   $ 3,615,767   $ 3,416,752   $ 3,417,360  
    Securities sold under agreements to repurchase     15,000     15,000     15,000     12,321     9,398  
    FHLB advances     104,053     106,187     107,054     123,723     102,757  
    Subordinated debt     23,201     23,189     23,175     23,162     23,149  
    Total interest-bearing liabilities     3,870,090     3,882,225     3,760,996     3,575,958     3,552,664  
    Noninterest-bearing deposits     524,860     513,157     524,878     531,946     539,637  
    Other noninterest-bearing liabilities     37,014     31,282     31,442     33,737     35,198  
    Total liabilities     4,431,964     4,426,664     4,317,316     4,141,641     4,127,499  
                                     
    Total stockholders’ equity     535,893     519,475     508,153     496,889     483,296  
                                     
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 4,967,857   $ 4,946,139   $ 4,825,469   $ 4,638,530   $ 4,610,795  
                                     
    Return on average assets     1.27 %     1.27 %     1.21 %     1.07 %     1.17 %
    Return on average common stockholders’ equity     11.8 %     12.1 %     11.5 %     10.0 %     11.2 %
                                     
    Net interest margin     3.46 %     3.39 %     3.36 %     3.37 %     3.25 %
    Net interest spread     2.92 %     2.87 %     2.79 %     2.75 %     2.65 %
                                     
    Efficiency ratio     54.6 %     55.1 %     55.3 %     59.0 %     58.3 %

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: SOUTHERN MISSOURI BANCORP REPORTS PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR FOURTH QUARTER OF FISCAL 2025; DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND OF $0.25 PER COMMON SHARE; CONFERENCE CALL SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY, JULY 24, AT 9:30 AM CENTRAL TIME

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Poplar Bluff, Missouri, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (“Company”) (NASDAQ: SMBC), the parent corporation of Southern Bank (“Bank”), today announced preliminary net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 of $15.8 million, an increase of $2.3 million or 16.7%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase was primarily attributable to higher net interest income and lower provision for income taxes. This was partially offset by higher provision for credit loss (PCL), noninterest expense, and lower noninterest income. Preliminary net income was $1.39 per fully diluted common share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, an increase of $0.20 as compared to the $1.19 per fully diluted common share reported for the same period of the prior fiscal year. For the full fiscal year 2025, preliminary net income of $58.6 million was an increase of $8.4 million as compared to fiscal 2024, while diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2025 were $5.18, an increase of $0.76 as compared to the $4.42 per fully diluted common share for fiscal 2024.

    Highlights for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025:

    • Earnings per common share (diluted) were $1.39, up $0.20, or 16.8%, as compared to the same quarter a year ago, and remained unchanged from the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter.
    • Annualized return on average assets (ROA) was 1.27%, while annualized return on average common equity (ROE) was 11.8%, as compared to 1.17% and 11.2%, respectively, in the same quarter a year ago, and 1.27% and 12.1%, respectively, in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter.
    • Net interest margin for the quarter was 3.46%, up from the 3.25% reported for the year ago period, and up from 3.39% reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter. Net interest income increased $5.2 million, or 14.9% as compared to the same quarter a year ago, and increased $854,000, or 2.2% as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter.
    • Noninterest income was down 6.3% for the quarter, as compared to the year ago period, but up 9.2% as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter. The decrease compared to the year ago period was primarily due to tax credit benefits recorded in the prior fiscal year as noninterest income, but recognized in the current period as a direct reduction from the provision for income taxes under the proportional amortization method of ASU 2023-02. In addition, the Company realized a modest negative adjustment to the value of mortgage servicing rights. The increase in non-interest income compared to the linked quarter was largely due to additional card network fees based on volume incentives totaling $537,000.
    • Gross loan balances increased by $76.2 million during the fourth quarter, and increased by $249.9 million, or 6.5% during all of fiscal 2025.
    • PCL was $2.5 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, a $1.6 million increase from both the year ago period and the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the linked quarter. The increase was primarily driven by higher net charge-offs, largely stemming from a previously identified non-performing special-purpose commercial real estate credit relationship disclosed in the prior quarter and to support loan growth. See “Balance Sheet Summary” below for more detailed information regarding this credit relationship.
    • Deposit balances increased by $19.9 million during the fourth quarter, and increased by $338.3 million, or 8.6% during all of fiscal 2025.
    • Cash equivalents and time deposits balances decreased by $34.0 million during the fourth quarter, and increased $131.7 million during all of fiscal 2025, which was driven by deposit growth and earnings retention after cash dividends paid outpacing gross loan and other asset growth.
    • Tangible book value per share was $41.87, having increased by $5.19, or 14.1%, as compared to June 30, 2024.

    Dividend Declared:

    The Board of Directors, on July 22, 2025, declared a quarterly cash dividend on common stock of $0.25 per share, payable August 29, 2025, to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 15, 2025, marking the 125th consecutive quarterly dividend since the inception of the Company. The dividend represents an increase of $0.02 per share, or 8.7%, as compared to the previous quarterly dividend payment. The Board of Directors and management believe the payment of a quarterly cash dividend enhances stockholder value and demonstrates our commitment to and confidence in our future prospects.

    Conference Call:

    The Company will host a conference call to review the information provided in this press release on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., central time. The call will be available live to interested parties by calling 1-833-470-1428 in the United States and from all other locations. Participants should use participant access code 617584. Telephone playback will be available beginning one hour following the conclusion of the call through July 29, 2025. The playback may be accessed by dialing 1-866-813-9403, and using the conference passcode 612450.

    Balance Sheet Summary:

    The Company experienced balance sheet growth in fiscal 2025, with total assets of $5.0 billion at June 30, 2025, reflecting an increase of $415.3 million, or 9.0%, as compared to June 30, 2024. Growth primarily reflected an increase in net loans receivable, cash equivalents, and available-for-sale (AFS) securities.

    Cash equivalents and time deposits were $193.1 million at June 30, 2025, an increase of $131.7 million, or 214.5%, as compared to June 30, 2024. Compared to March 31, 2025, the linked quarter, cash equivalents decreased $34.0 million, or 15.0%, primarily utilized to fund loan growth, which was partially offset by deposit growth and earnings retention after cash dividends paid. AFS securities were $460.8 million at June 30, 2025, up $32.9 million, or 7.7%, as compared to June 30, 2024.

    Loans, net of the allowance for credit losses (ACL), were $4.0 billion at June 30, 2025, an increase of $250.8 million, or 6.6%, as compared to June 30, 2024. Gross loans increased by $249.9 million, while the ACL attributable to outstanding loan balances decreased $887,000, or 1.7%, as compared to June 30, 2024. The increase in loan balances was attributable to growth in residential real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, drawn construction loan balances, multi-family real estate loans, and agricultural production draws. This was partially offset by payoffs and paydowns in non-owner occupied commercial real estate and consumer loans. The table below illustrates changes in loan balances by type over recent periods:

                                   
    Summary Loan Data as of:      June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,
    (dollars in thousands)   2025   2025   2024   2024   2024
                                   
    1-4 residential real estate   $ 991,553   $ 978,908   $ 967,196   $ 942,916   $ 925,397
    Non-owner occupied commercial real estate     888,317     897,125     882,484     903,678     899,770
    Owner occupied commercial real estate     442,984     440,282     435,392     438,030     427,476
    Multi-family real estate     422,758     405,445     376,081     371,177     384,564
    Construction and land development     332,405     323,499     393,388     351,481     290,541
    Agriculture real estate     244,983     247,027     239,912     239,787     232,520
    Total loans secured by real estate     3,323,000     3,292,286     3,294,453     3,247,069     3,160,268
                                   
    Commercial and industrial     510,259     488,116     484,799     457,018     450,147
    Agriculture production     206,128     186,058     188,284     200,215     175,968
    Consumer     55,387     54,022     56,017     58,735     59,671
    All other loans     5,102     3,216     3,628     3,699     3,981
    Total loans     4,099,876     4,023,698     4,027,181     3,966,736     3,850,035
                                   
    Deferred loan fees, net     (178)     (189)     (202)     (218)     (232)
    Gross loans     4,099,698     4,023,509     4,026,979     3,966,518     3,849,803
    Allowance for credit losses     (51,629)     (54,940)     (54,740)     (54,437)     (52,516)
    Net loans   $ 4,048,069   $ 3,968,569   $ 3,972,239   $ 3,912,081   $ 3,797,287

    Loans anticipated to fund in the next 90 days totaled $224.1 million at June 30, 2025, as compared to $163.3 million at March 31, 2025, and $157.1 million at June 30, 2024.

    The Bank’s concentration in non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans is estimated at 301.9% of Tier 1 capital and ACL at June 30, 2025, as compared to 317.5% as of June 30, 2024, with these loans representing 40.1% of total loans at June 30, 2025. Multi-family residential real estate, hospitality (hotels/restaurants), care facilities, strip centers, retail stand-alone, and storage units are the most common collateral types within the non-owner occupied commercial real estate loan portfolio. The multi-family residential real estate loan portfolio commonly includes loans collateralized by properties currently in the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program or that have exited the program. The hospitality and retail stand-alone segments include primarily franchised businesses; care facilities consisting mainly of skilled nursing and assisted living centers; and strip centers, which can be defined as non-mall shopping centers with a variety of tenants. Non-owner occupied office property types included 33 loans totaling $24.3 million, or 0.59% of total loans at June 30, 2025, none of which were adversely classified as of June 30, 2025, and are generally comprised of smaller spaces with diverse tenants. The Company continues to monitor its commercial real estate concentration and the individual segments closely.

    Nonperforming loans (NPLs) were $23.0 million, or 0.56% of gross loans, at June 30, 2025, as compared to $6.7 million, or 0.17% of gross loans, at June 30, 2024. Nonperforming assets (NPAs) were $23.7 million, or 0.47% of total assets, at June 30, 2025, as compared to $10.6 million, or 0.23% of total assets, at June 30, 2024. The rise in NPAs reflects an increase in NPLs, which was partially offset by a decrease in other real estate owned. Compared to March 31, 2025, the linked quarter, NPAs declined $104,000. The year-over-year increase in NPLs was primarily driven by several commercial relationships added during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2025, along with the addition of other smaller loans throughout the year, partially offset by net charge-offs. In the fourth quarter, a $5.7 million construction loan related to the development of a senior living facility was placed on nonaccrual status. As previously disclosed in the third quarter, three commercial loans with common guarantors, which are primarily secured by two non-owner-occupied, special-purpose commercial properties located in different states, were also added to NPLs. These properties, which were previously leased to a single tenant that has since become insolvent, are now vacant. Some guarantors are shared across these three loans. The total balance of these three loans at fiscal year end 2025 was $6.2 million, after recognition of $3.8 million charge-offs in the current quarter that were previously reserved for in the linked quarter.

    The ACL at June 30, 2025, totaled $51.6 million, representing 1.26% of gross loans and 224% of nonperforming loans, as compared to an ACL of $52.5 million, representing 1.36% of gross loans and 786% of nonperforming loans, at June 30, 2024. The Company has estimated its expected credit losses as of June 30, 2025, under ASC 326-20, and management believes the ACL as of that date was adequate based on that estimate. There remains, however, significant uncertainty as borrowers adjust to relatively high market interest rates, although the Federal Reserve has reduced short-term rates somewhat during this fiscal year. The decrease in the ACL was primarily attributable to net charge-offs, which reduced the required reserves for individually evaluated loans, as well as a decline in certain qualitative adjustments relevant to assessing expected credit losses. This decrease was partially offset by higher required reserves for pooled loans, reflecting management’s updated view of a deteriorating economic outlook and an increase in modeled loss drivers compared to the prior assessment as of June 30, 2024. Additional provisions were also recorded to support loan growth and overdraft exposures during fiscal year 2025. As a percentage of average loans outstanding, the Company recorded net charge offs of 0.53% (annualized) during the current quarter, as compared to 0.06% for the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. In the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, net charge offs were $5.3 million, with the increase from prior periods primarily attributable to the $3.8 million special-purpose CRE charge off noted above, and a $742,000 commercial and industrial charge off related to a commercial contractor. For fiscal year 2025, net charge offs as a percentage of average loans were 0.17%, as compared to 0.05% for fiscal year 2024.

    Total liabilities were $4.5 billion at June 30, 2025, an increase of $359.3 million, or 8.7%, as compared to June 30, 2024. Growth primarily reflected increases in total deposits, other liabilities, accrued interest and income taxes payable, and securities sold under agreement to repurchase.

    Deposits were $4.3 billion at June 30, 2025, an increase of $338.3 million, or 8.6%, as compared to June 30, 2024. The deposit portfolio saw increases in certificates of deposit and savings accounts, as customers remained willing to move balances into special rate time deposits and high yield savings accounts in the higher rate environment. Public unit balances totaled $550.8 million at June 30, 2025, a decrease of $43.8 million compared to June 30, 2024, mostly due to the Company losing the bid to retain a larger local public unit depositor early in the fiscal year. Brokered deposits totaled $233.6 million at June 30, 2025, an increase of $61.9 million as compared to June 30, 2024. The average loan-to-deposit ratio for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was 94.5%, as compared to 96.3% for the same period of the prior fiscal year. The period end loan-to-deposit ratios were 95.8% and 97.6% as of June 30, 2024, and 2025, respectively. The table below illustrates changes in deposit balances by type over recent periods:    

                                   
    Summary Deposit Data as of:      June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,
    (dollars in thousands)   2025   2025   2024   2024   2024
                                   
    Non-interest bearing deposits   $ 508,110   $ 513,418   $ 514,199   $ 503,209   $ 514,107
    NOW accounts     1,132,298     1,167,296     1,211,402     1,128,917     1,239,663
    MMDAs – non-brokered     329,837     345,810     347,271     320,252     334,774
    Brokered MMDAs     1,414     2,013     3,018     12,058     2,025
    Savings accounts     661,115     626,175     573,291     556,030     517,084
    Total nonmaturity deposits     2,632,774     2,654,712     2,649,181     2,520,466     2,607,653
                                   
    Certificates of deposit – non-brokered     1,414,945     1,373,109     1,310,421     1,258,583     1,163,650
    Brokered certificates of deposit     233,649     233,561     251,025     261,093     171,756
    Total certificates of deposit     1,648,594     1,606,670     1,561,446     1,519,676     1,335,406
                                   
    Total deposits   $ 4,281,368   $ 4,261,382   $ 4,210,627   $ 4,040,142   $ 3,943,059
                                   
    Public unit nonmaturity accounts   $ 435,632   $ 472,010   $ 482,406   $ 447,638   $ 541,445
    Public unit certificates of deposit     115,204     103,741     83,506     62,882     53,144
    Total public unit deposits   $ 550,836   $ 575,751   $ 565,912   $ 510,520   $ 594,589

    FHLB advances were $104.1 million at June 30, 2025, an increase of $2.0 million, or 2.0%, as compared to June 30, 2024.

    The Company’s stockholders’ equity was $544.7 million at June 30, 2025, an increase of $55.9 million, or 11.4%, as compared to June 30, 2024. The increase was attributable primarily to earnings retained after cash dividends paid, in combination with a $6.1 million reduction in accumulated other comprehensive losses (AOCL) as the market value of the Company’s investments appreciated due to the decrease in market interest rates. The AOCL totaled $11.4 million at June 30, 2025, as compared to $17.5 million at June 30, 2024. The Company does not hold any securities classified as held-to-maturity.    

    Quarterly Income Statement Summary:

    The Company’s net interest income for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, was $40.3 million, an increase of $5.2 million, or 14.9%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase was attributable to a 7.9% increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets in the current three-month period compared to the same period a year ago, and an increase of 21 basis points in the net interest margin, from 3.25% to 3.46%. The primary driver of the net interest margin expansion, compared to the year ago period, was the cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreasing 20 basis points, while the yield on interest-earning assets increased seven basis points. The overall increase in spread of 27 basis points was partially offset by a lower level of average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities totaling 120.6% at June 30, 2025, down 1.1 percentage points compared to the year ago period, due to stronger deposit growth.

    Loan discount accretion and deposit premium amortization related to the November 2018 acquisition of First Commercial Bank, the May 2020 acquisition of Central Federal Savings & Loan Association, the February 2022 merger of FortuneBank, and the January 2023 acquisition of Citizens Bank & Trust resulted in $612,000 in net interest income for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, as compared to $1.1 million in net interest income for the same period a year ago. Combined, this component of net interest income contributed five basis points to net interest margin in the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, as compared to a ten basis point contribution for the same period of the prior fiscal year, and as compared to a 13-basis point contribution in the linked quarter, ended March 31, 2025, when net interest margin was 3.39%.

    The Company recorded a PCL of $2.5 million in the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, as compared to a PCL of $900,000 in the same period of the prior fiscal year. The current period PCL was the result of a $2.0 million provision attributable to the ACL for loan balances outstanding and a $475,000 provision attributable to the allowance for off-balance sheet credit exposures. The increase was primarily attributable to providing for net charge-offs and to support loan growth, in addition to an increase in unfunded balances and an increase in the expected funding rate on available credit.

    The Company’s noninterest income for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, was $7.3 million, a decrease of $487,000, or 6.3%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The decrease was attributable to lower other noninterest income and loan servicing fees. The decrease in other noninterest income was associated with the change in accounting for realization of tax credits, as the Company has adopted the proportional amortization method under ASU 2023-02, which results in a direct reduction to the provision for income taxes in fiscal 2025. The tax credit benefit recognized in other noninterest income in the three-month period ended June 2024 was $675,000. Loan servicing fees were negatively impacted by the recognition of a change in the fair value of mortgage servicing rights, which in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 resulted in a negative adjustment of $108,000, as compared to a benefit of $131,000 in the same period a year ago, due to changes in market rates and prepayment assumptions. These decreases as compared to the prior year period were partially offset by increases in other loan fees attributable to increased loan originations and higher deposit account charges and related fees primarily attributable to an increase in non-sufficient fund activity and an increase in maintenance and activity fees collected.

    Noninterest expense for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, was $26.0 million, an increase of $974,000, or 3.9%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase as compared to the year-ago period was primarily attributable to increases in legal and professional fees, data processing expense, and other noninterest expense. The Company experienced elevated legal and professional fees associated with consulting costs to negotiate a new contract with a large vendor totaling $425,000. Data processing expense increased due to an increase in third party ancillary software expenses and one-time reclassification of data processing expenses to other categories in the year-ago period. The increase in other noninterest expense was primarily due to card fraud losses and deposit product expenses. These increases as compared to the prior year period were partially offset by decreases in intangible amortization expense, as the core deposit intangible recognized in an older merger was fully amortized in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, and by reduced telecommunication expenses.

    The efficiency ratio for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, was 54.6%, as compared to 58.3% in the same period of the prior fiscal year. The improvement was attributable to net interest income growing faster than operating expenses.

    The income tax provision was $3.4 million for the three-month period ended June 30, 2025, and for the same period of the prior fiscal year. The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 was 17.5%, as compared to 20.2% in the same period of the prior fiscal year. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily attributable to a $701,000 income tax benefit from the recognition of tax credits utilizing the proportional amortization method under ASC 2023-02. In the same period of the prior fiscal year, similar benefits were recognized through noninterest income.

    Forward-Looking Information:

    Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including: potential adverse impacts to the economic conditions in the Company’s local market areas, other markets where the Company has lending relationships, or other aspects of the Company’s business operations or financial markets, expected cost savings, synergies and other benefits from our merger and acquisition activities might not be realized to the extent expected, within the anticipated time frames, or at all, and costs or difficulties relating to integration matters, including but not limited to customer and employee retention and labor shortages, might be greater than expected and goodwill impairment charges might be incurred; the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of local economies in which we conduct operations; fluctuations in interest rates and the possibility of a recession; monetary and fiscal policies of the FRB and the U.S. Government and other governmental initiatives affecting the financial services industry; potential imposition of new or increased tariffs or changes to existing trade policies that could affect economic activity or specific industry sectors; the risks of lending and investing activities, including changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and write-offs and changes in estimates of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses; our ability to access cost-effective funding; the timely development and acceptance of our new products and services and the perceived overall value of these products and services by users, including the features, pricing and quality compared to competitors’ products and services; fluctuations in real estate values in both residential and commercial real estate markets, as well as agricultural business conditions; demand for loans and deposits; legislative or regulatory changes that adversely affect our business; changes in accounting principles, policies, or guidelines; results of regulatory examinations, including the possibility that a regulator may, among other things, require an increase in our reserve for credit losses or write-down of assets; the impact of technological changes; and our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing. Any forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs and assumptions at the time they are made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking statements discussed might not occur, and you should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.   

    Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc.
    UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

                                     
    Summary Balance Sheet Data as of:      June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,  
    (dollars in thousands, except per share data)   2025   2025   2024   2024   2024  
                                     
    Cash equivalents and time deposits   $ 193,105   $ 227,136   $ 146,078   $ 75,591   $ 61,395  
    Available for sale (AFS) securities     460,844     462,930     468,060     420,209     427,903  
    FHLB/FRB membership stock     18,500     18,269     18,099     18,064     17,802  
    Loans held for sale     431     —     —     —     —  
    Loans receivable, gross     4,099,698     4,023,509     4,026,979     3,966,518     3,849,803  
    Allowance for credit losses     51,629     54,940     54,740     54,437     52,516  
    Loans receivable, net     4,048,069     3,968,569     3,972,239     3,912,081     3,797,287  
    Bank-owned life insurance     75,691     75,156     74,643     74,119     73,601  
    Intangible assets     73,721     74,677     75,399     76,340     77,232  
    Premises and equipment     95,982     95,987     96,418     96,087     95,952  
    Other assets     53,264     53,772     56,738     56,709     53,144  
    Total assets   $ 5,019,607   $ 4,976,496   $ 4,907,674   $ 4,729,200   $ 4,604,316  
                                     
    Interest-bearing deposits   $ 3,773,258   $ 3,747,964   $ 3,696,428   $ 3,536,933   $ 3,428,952  
    Noninterest-bearing deposits     508,110     513,418     514,199     503,209     514,107  
    Securities sold under agreements to repurchase     15,000     15,000     15,000     15,000     9,398  
    FHLB advances     104,072     104,072     107,070     107,069     102,050  
    Other liabilities     51,267     44,057     39,424     38,191     37,905  
    Subordinated debt     23,208     23,195     23,182     23,169     23,156  
    Total liabilities     4,474,915     4,447,706     4,395,303     4,223,571     4,115,568  
                                     
    Total stockholders’ equity     544,692     528,790     512,371     505,629     488,748  
                                     
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 5,019,607   $ 4,976,496   $ 4,907,674   $ 4,729,200   $ 4,604,316  
                                     
    Equity to assets ratio     10.85 %     10.63 %     10.44 %     10.69 %     10.61 %
                                     
    Common shares outstanding     11,299,467     11,299,962     11,277,167     11,277,167     11,277,737  
    Less: Restricted common shares not vested     50,163     50,658     46,653     56,553     57,956  
    Common shares for book value determination     11,249,304     11,249,304     11,230,514     11,220,614     11,219,781  
                                     
    Book value per common share   $ 48.42   $ 47.01   $ 45.62   $ 45.06   $ 43.56  
    Less: Intangible assets per common share     6.55     6.64     6.71     6.80     6.88  
    Tangible book value per common share (1)     41.87     40.37     38.91     38.26     36.68  
    Closing market price     54.78     52.02     57.37     56.49     45.01  

    (1)   Non-GAAP financial measure.

                                     
    Nonperforming asset data as of:      June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,  
    (dollars in thousands)   2025   2025   2024   2024   2024  
                                     
    Nonaccrual loans   $ 23,040   $ 21,970   $ 8,309   $ 8,206   $ 6,680  
    Accruing loans 90 days or more past due     —     —     —     —     —  
    Total nonperforming loans     23,040     21,970     8,309     8,206     6,680  
    Other real estate owned (OREO)     625     1,775     2,423     3,842     3,865  
    Personal property repossessed     32     56     37     21     23  
    Total nonperforming assets   $ 23,697   $ 23,801   $ 10,769   $ 12,069   $ 10,568  
                                     
    Total nonperforming assets to total assets     0.47 %     0.48 %     0.22 %     0.26 %     0.23 %  
    Total nonperforming loans to gross loans     0.56 %     0.55 %     0.21 %     0.21 %     0.17 %  
    Allowance for credit losses to nonperforming loans     224.08 %     250.07 %     658.80 %     663.38 %     786.17 %  
    Allowance for credit losses to gross loans     1.26 %     1.37 %     1.36 %     1.37 %     1.36 %  
                                     
    Performing modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty   $ 26,642   $ 23,304   $ 24,083   $ 24,340   $ 24,602  
                                   
        For the three-month period ended
    Quarterly Summary Income Statement Data:   June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,
    (dollars in thousands, except per share data)      2025   2025   2024   2024   2024
                                   
    Interest income:                                   
    Cash equivalents   $ 1,698   $ 1,585   $ 784   $ 78   $ 541
    AFS securities and membership stock     5,586     5,684     5,558     5,547     5,677
    Loans receivable     63,354     62,656     63,082     61,753     58,449
    Total interest income     70,638     69,925     69,424     67,378     64,667
    Interest expense:                              
    Deposits     28,644     28,795     29,538     28,796     27,999
    Securities sold under agreements to repurchase     191     189     226     160     125
    FHLB advances     1,080     1,076     1,099     1,326     1,015
    Subordinated debt     390     386     418     435     433
    Total interest expense     30,305     30,446     31,281     30,717     29,572
    Net interest income     40,333     39,479     38,143     36,661     35,095
    Provision for credit losses     2,500     932     932     2,159     900
    Noninterest income:                              
    Deposit account charges and related fees     2,156     2,048     2,237     2,184     1,978
    Bank card interchange income     1,839     1,341     1,301     1,499     1,770
    Loan late charges     —     —     —     —     170
    Loan servicing fees     167     224     232     286     494
    Other loan fees     917     843     944     1,063     617
    Net realized gains on sale of loans     143     114     133     361     97
    Net realized gains (losses) on sale of AFS securities     —     48     —     —     —
    Earnings on bank owned life insurance     533     512     522     517     498
    Insurance brokerage commissions     368     340     300     287     331
    Wealth management fees     825     902     843     730     838
    Other noninterest income     332     294     353     247     974
    Total noninterest income     7,280     6,666     6,865     7,174     7,767
    Noninterest expense:                              
    Compensation and benefits     13,852     13,771     13,737     14,397     13,894
    Occupancy and equipment, net     3,745     3,869     3,585     3,689     3,790
    Data processing expense     2,573     2,359     2,224     2,171     1,929
    Telecommunications expense     312     330     354     428     468
    Deposit insurance premiums     601     674     588     472     638
    Legal and professional fees     1,165     603     619     1,208     516
    Advertising     551     530     442     546     640
    Postage and office supplies     336     350     283     306     308
    Intangible amortization     857     889     897     897     1,018
    Foreclosed property expenses, net     (18)     37     73     12     52
    Other noninterest expense     2,002     1,979     2,074     1,715     1,749
    Total noninterest expense     25,976     25,391     24,876     25,841     25,002
    Net income before income taxes     19,137     19,822     19,200     15,835     16,960
    Income taxes     3,351     4,139     4,547     3,377     3,430
    Net income     15,786     15,683     14,653     12,458     13,530
    Less: Distributed and undistributed earnings allocated                              
    to participating securities     71     71     61     62     69
    Net income available to common shareholders   $ 15,715   $ 15,612   $ 14,592   $ 12,396   $ 13,461
                                   
    Basic earnings per common share   $ 1.40   $ 1.39   $ 1.30   $ 1.10   $ 1.19
    Diluted earnings per common share     1.39     1.39     1.30     1.10     1.19
    Dividends per common share     0.23     0.23     0.23     0.23     0.21
    Average common shares outstanding:                              
    Basic     11,250,000     11,238,000     11,231,000     11,221,000     11,276,000
    Diluted     11,270,000     11,262,000     11,260,000     11,240,000     11,283,000
                                     
        For the three-month period ended  
    Quarterly Average Balance Sheet Data:   June 30,      Mar. 31,      Dec. 31,      Sep. 30,      June 30,  
    (dollars in thousands)      2025   2025   2024   2024   2024  
                                     
    Interest-bearing cash equivalents   $ 151,380   $ 143,206   $ 64,976   $ 5,547   $ 39,432  
    AFS securities and membership stock     498,491     508,642     479,633     460,187     476,198  
    Loans receivable, gross     4,018,769     4,003,552     3,989,643     3,889,740     3,809,209  
    Total interest-earning assets     4,668,640     4,655,400     4,534,252     4,355,474     4,324,839  
    Other assets     299,217     290,739     291,217     283,056     285,956  
    Total assets   $ 4,967,857   $ 4,946,139   $ 4,825,469   $ 4,638,530   $ 4,610,795  
                                     
    Interest-bearing deposits   $ 3,727,836   $ 3,737,849   $ 3,615,767   $ 3,416,752   $ 3,417,360  
    Securities sold under agreements to repurchase     15,000     15,000     15,000     12,321     9,398  
    FHLB advances     104,053     106,187     107,054     123,723     102,757  
    Subordinated debt     23,201     23,189     23,175     23,162     23,149  
    Total interest-bearing liabilities     3,870,090     3,882,225     3,760,996     3,575,958     3,552,664  
    Noninterest-bearing deposits     524,860     513,157     524,878     531,946     539,637  
    Other noninterest-bearing liabilities     37,014     31,282     31,442     33,737     35,198  
    Total liabilities     4,431,964     4,426,664     4,317,316     4,141,641     4,127,499  
                                     
    Total stockholders’ equity     535,893     519,475     508,153     496,889     483,296  
                                     
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 4,967,857   $ 4,946,139   $ 4,825,469   $ 4,638,530   $ 4,610,795  
                                     
    Return on average assets     1.27 %     1.27 %     1.21 %     1.07 %     1.17 %
    Return on average common stockholders’ equity     11.8 %     12.1 %     11.5 %     10.0 %     11.2 %
                                     
    Net interest margin     3.46 %     3.39 %     3.36 %     3.37 %     3.25 %
    Net interest spread     2.92 %     2.87 %     2.79 %     2.75 %     2.65 %
                                     
    Efficiency ratio     54.6 %     55.1 %     55.3 %     59.0 %     58.3 %

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: ES Bancshares, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2025 Results; Continues Positive Trend of Net Income Growth

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ES Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX: ESBS) (the “Company”) the holding company for Empire State Bank, (the “Bank”) today reported net income of $1.03 million, or $0.15 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, compared to a net income of $546 thousand, or $0.08 per diluted common share for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.

    Key Quarterly Financial Data 2025 Highlights  
    Performance Metrics 2Q25 1Q25 4Q24 • Non interest-bearing deposits grew by $8.1 million from year end 2024.

    • The Cost of Funds for the three months ended June 30, 2025, rose to 2.72% from 2.69% in the prior linked quarter.

    • For 3 months ended June 30, 2025, the Company’s net interest margin decreased to 2.66% compared to 2.68% for the 3 months ended March 31, 2025.

    • The Company received $384K in Employee Retention Tax Credits and applicable interest in the second quarter of 2025.

    • Book value for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, totaled $7.13 per share increasing for the fifth consecutive quarter.

    		  
    Return on average assets (%)   0.66   0.35   0.10  
    Return on average equity (%)   8.44   4.53   1.37  
    Return on average tangible equity (%)   8.55   4.59   1.38  
    Net interest margin (%)   2.66   2.68   2.21  
             
    Income Statement (a) 2Q25 1Q25 4Q24  
    Net interest income $ 4,019 $ 4,112 $ 3,447  
    Non-interest income $ 1,120 $ 349 $ 329  
    Net income $ 1,034 $ 546 $ 158  
    Earnings per diluted common share $ 0.15 $ 0.08 $ 0.02  
             
    Balance Sheet (a) 2Q25 1Q25 4Q24  
    Average total loans $ 557,878 $ 568,508 $ 565,363  
    Average total deposits $ 508,496 $ 506,524 $ 510,050  
    Book value per share $ 7.13 $ 6.97 $ 6.74  
    Tangible book value per share $ 7.05 $ 6.89 $ 6.65  
    (a) In thousands except for per share amounts  
    		    

    Phil Guarnieri, Director, and Chief Executive Officer of ES Bancshares said, “The second quarter of 2025 featured $8.1 million growth in our non-interest-bearing deposits. Our net income increased due in large part to the receipt of the Employee Retention Tax Credits for the year 2020. We continue to be flexible as we proceed through the fluctuating economic and regulatory landscape.”

    Selected Balance Sheet Information:

    June 30, 2025 vs. December 31, 2024

    As of June 30, 2025, total assets were $645.0 million, an increase of $8.2 million, or 1.3%, as compared to total assets of $636.7 million on December 31, 2024. The increase can be attributed to an influx of retail deposits and cash.

    Loans receivable, net of Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans totaled $552.3 million, a decrease of $7.0 million or 1.3% from December 31, 2024. As of June 30, 2025, the Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans as a percentage of gross loans was 0.93%.

    Nonperforming assets, which includes nonaccrual loans and foreclosed real estate were $6.3 million or 0.98% of total assets, as of June 30, 2025, increasing from $5.3 million or 0.84% of total assets at December 31, 2024. The ratio of nonaccrual loans to loans receivable was 1.13%, as of June 30, 2025, and 0.94% for December 31, 2024. The increase from December 31, 2024, was primarily due to one non-owner occupied commercial real estate loan being placed on non-accrual status.   That loan has a less than 50% loan to value ratio.

    Total liabilities increased $6.4 million to $595.6 million at June 30, 2025, from $589.2 million at December 31, 2024. The increase can be attributed to an increase in core deposits and in brokered deposits partially offset by a reduction in overnight Federal Home Loan (FHLB) borrowings. The growth in deposits was driven by an increase in non-interest-bearing deposits.

    As of June 30, 2025, the Bank’s Tier 1 capital leverage ratio, common equity tier 1 capital ratio, Tier 1 capital ratio and total capital ratios were 9.78%, 14.35%, 14.35% and 15.60%, respectively, all in excess of the ratios required to be deemed “well-capitalized.” During the second quarter of 2025 the Company did not repurchase shares under its stock repurchase program. Book value per common share was $7.13 at June 30, 2025, compared to $6.89 at December 31, 2024. Tangible common book value per share (which represents common equity less goodwill, divided by the number of shares outstanding) was $7.05 at June 30, 2025, compared to $6.81 at December 31, 2024.

    Financial Performance Overview:

    Three Months Ended June 30, 2025, vs. March 31, 2025

    For the three months ended June 30, 2025, the Company net income totaled $1.0 million compared to a net income of $546 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The increase can be attributed to higher non-interest income partially offset by lower net interest income and higher loan loss provisions quarter over quarter.

    Net interest income for the three months ended June 30, 2025 decreased $93 thousand, to $4.0 million from $4.1 million at three months ended March 31, 2025. The Company’s net interest margin decreased moderately by two basis points to 2.66% for the three months ended June 30, 2025, as compared to 2.68% for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The decrease in margin can be attributed to an increase of 6 basis points in the Company’s average cost for its interest-bearing liabilities as lower rate borrowings matured and the reduction of $10.6 million in our average loan balance in the second quarter.

    There was a $43 thousand provision for credit losses taken for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to a $30 thousand reversal for credit losses for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The provision for credit losses was due to by an increase in the ACL for loans and off-balance sheet positions, partially offset by a lower ACL for investments.

    Non-interest income increased $771 thousand, to $1.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared with non-interest income of $349 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The majority of the increases can be attributed to the receipt of $384 thousand Employee Retention Tax Credits (“ERTC”) plus applicable interest and higher service charges and fees on loans. We are expecting the remaining ERTC installments for the 2021 tax year.

    Non-interest expenses totaled $3.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to $3.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The largest fluctuations quarter over quarter were due to a $147 thousand increase in compensation and benefits due to additional hires, and increased advertising expenses of $33 thousand, partially offset by an $89 thousand decrease in professional fees, due to reduced legal expenses, $43 thousand decrease in occupancy and equipment and a $39 thousand decrease in other expenses.

    Six months ended June 30, 2025 vs. June 30, 2024

    For the six months ended June 30, 2025, net income totaled $1.6 million in comparison to $55 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2024. The increase can mainly be attributed to higher net interest income of $1.5 million, increased non-interest income of $925 thousand partially offset by higher non-interest expense of $541 thousand and higher provision for income taxes of $375 thousand.

    Net interest income for the six months ended June 30, 2025, increased 22% or $1.4 million, to $8.1 million from $6.7 million at June 30, 2024. The increase can be attributed to decreased interest expense for deposits of $1.2 million and lower borrowing costs of $176 thousand.

    Provision for credit losses totaled $13 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared to a $48 thousand provision for the six months ended June 30, 2024.

    Non-interest income totaled $1.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared with noninterest income of $544 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2024. The increase can be attributed to increased charges and fees collected, the receipt of the Employee Retention Tax Credit in 2025, and the gain on sale of loans period over period.

    Operating expenses totaled $7.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared to $7.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, or an increase of 7.7%. The increase in non-interest expenses can be attributed to the increases in professional fees, other non-interest expenses and salary and compensation.

    About ES Bancshares Inc.
    ES Bancshares, Inc. (the “Company”) is incorporated under Maryland law and serves as the holding company for Empire State Bank (the “Bank”). The Company is subject to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System while the Bank is primarily subject to regulation and supervision by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Currently, the Company does not transact any material business other than through the Bank, its subsidiary.

    The Bank was organized under federal law in 2004 as a national bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Bank’s deposits are insured up to legal limits by the FDIC. In March 2009, the Bank converted its charter to a New York State commercial bank charter. The Bank’s principal business is attracting commercial and retail deposits in New York and investing those deposits primarily in loans, consisting of commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans including SBA and mortgage loans secured by one-to-four-family residences. In addition, the Bank invests in mortgage-backed securities, securities issued by the U.S. Government and agencies thereof, corporate securities and other investments permitted by applicable law and regulations.

    We operate from our five Banking Center locations, a Loan Production Office and our Corporate Headquarters located in Staten Island, New York. The Company’s website address is www.esbna.com. The Company’s annual report, quarterly earnings releases and all press releases are available free of charge through its website, as soon as reasonably practicable.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained in this release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate” or “continue” or comparable terminology, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of factors, many of which are not within ES Bancshares, Inc’s. control. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release. We have no intention, and do not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements.

    Investor Contact:
    Peggy Edwards, Corporate Secretary
    (845) 451-7825

    ES Bancshares, Inc.
    Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition
    (in thousands)
        June 30,   December 31,
    2025     2024  
        |—-(unaudited)—-|    
    Assets        
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 46,761     26,713  
    Securities, net   22,135     22,336  
    Loans receivable, net:        
    Real estate mortgage loans   535,667     545,569  
    Commercial and Lines of Credit   17,820     14,417  
    Home Equity and Consumer Loans 294     397  
    Deferred costs   3,726     4,084  
    Allowance for Loan Credit Losses (5,169 )   (5,137 )
    Total loans receivable, net   552,338     559,330  
    Accrued interest receivable   2,609     2,628  
    Investment in restricted stock, at cost   3,860     4,335  
    Goodwill   581     581  
    Bank premises and equipment, net   4,466     4,845  
    Repossessed assets   –     –  
    Right of use lease assets   5,459     5,894  
    Bank Owned Life Insurance   5,566     5,489  
    Other Assets   1,207     4,589  
    Total Assets $ 644,982     636,739  
             
    Liabilities & Stockholders’ Equity        
    Non-Interest-Bearing Deposits   105,568     97,490  
    Interest-Bearing Deposits   402,083     395,593  
    Brokered Deposits   23,056     20,750  
    Total Deposits   530,707     513,833  
    Bond Issue, net of costs   11,807     11,787  
    Borrowed Money   39,710     50,083  
    Lease Liability   5,744     6,172  
    Other Liabilities   7,600     7,313  
    Total Liabilities   595,568     589,188  
    Stockholders’ equity   49,414     47,551  
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 644,982     636,739  
     
      ES Bancshares, Inc.   
      Consolidated Statements of Income 
      (in thousands)    
                   
      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
      June 30, 2025 March 31, 2025   June 30, 2024   June 30, 2025 June 30, 2024
      |————–(unaudited)————–|   |—-(unaudited)—-|
    Interest income              
    Loans $ 7,354 $ 7,478     $ 7,345   $ 14,832 $ 14,553
    Securities   193   213       121     406   236
    Other interest-earning assets   279   243       561     522   824
         Total Interest Income   7,826   7,934       8,027     15,760   15,613
    Interest expense              
    Deposits   3,146   3,118       3,837     6,264   7,422
    Borrowings   661   704       743     1,365   1,541
         Total Interest Expense   3,807   3,822       4,580     7,629   8,963
              Net Interest Income   4,019   4,112       3,447     8,131   6,650
    (Rev)Prov for Credit Losses   43   (30 )     9     13   48
         Net Interest Income after (Rev)Prov for Credit Losses   3,976   4,142       3,438     8,118   6,602
    Non-interest income              
    Service charges and fees   693   175       200     868   372
    Gain on loan sales   –   132       –     132   1
    Gain on extinguishment of Sub-debt   –   –       –     –   –
    Other   427   42       129     469   171
         Total non-interest income   1,120   349       329     1,469   544
    Non-interest expenses              
    Compensation and benefits   1,836   1,689       1,728     3,525   3,449
    Occupancy and equipment   626   669       605     1,295   1,273
    Data processing service fees   345   315       317     660   643
    Professional fees   246   335       225     581   406
    FDIC & NYS Banking Assessments   113   113       99     226   196
    Advertising   122   89       85     211   160
    Insurance   48   53       46     101   96
    Other   432   471       401     903   738
         Total non-interest expense   3,768   3,734       3,506     7,502   6,961
              Income prior to tax expense   1,328   757       261     2,085   185
    Income taxes   294   211       103     505   130
              Net Income $ 1,034 $ 546     $ 158   $ 1,580 $ 55
                   
                       
      ES Bancshares, Inc.
      Average Balance Sheet Data
      For the Three Months Ended (dollars in thousands)
      June 30, 2025 March 31, 2025 June 30, 2024
      Avg Bal Interest Average Avg Bal Interest Average Avg Bal Interest Average
      Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling
    Assets  3 Mos.  3 Mos. Yield/Cost  3 Mos.  3 Mos. Yield/Cost  3 Mos.  3 Mos. Yield/Cost
    Interest-earning assets:                  
    Loans receivable $ 557,878 $ 7,354 5.27 % $ 568,508 $ 7,478 5.26 % $ 565,363 $ 7,345 5.20 %
    Investment securities   20,844   192 3.69 %   22,839   213 3.73 %   15,513   121 3.13 %
    Other interest-earning assets   26,781   280 4.20 %   21,343   243 4.55 %   41,652   561 5.33 %
    Total interest-earning assets   605,503   7,826 5.17 %   612,690   7,934 5.18 %   622,528   8,027 5.16 %
    Non-interest earning assets   24,968       19,077       16,398    
    Total assets $ 630,471     $ 631,767     $ 638,926    
    Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity                  
    Interest-bearing liabilities:                  
    Interest-bearing checking $ 31,717 $ 28 0.35 % $ 36,869 $ 31 0.34 % $ 36,692 $ 71 0.77 %
    Savings accounts   202,172   1,490 2.96 %   205,503   1,443 2.85 %   175,686   1,629 3.72 %
    Certificates of deposit   167,948   1,628 3.89 %   166,005   1,644 4.02 %   194,806   2,137 4.40 %
    Total interest-bearing deposits   401,837   3,146 3.14 %   408,377   3,118 3.10 %   407,184   3,837 3.78 %
    Borrowings   40,407   471 4.68 %   50,124   514 4.16 %   55,510   522 3.77 %
    Subordinated debenture   11,803   190 6.44 %   11,793   190 6.44 %   13,726   221 6.46 %
    Total interest-bearing liabilities   454,047   3,807 3.36 %   470,294   3,822 3.30 %   476,420   4,580 3.86 %
    Non-interest-bearing demand deposits   106,659       98,147       102,866    
    Other liabilities   20,741       15,188       13,429    
    Total non-interest-bearing liabilities   127,400       113,335       116,295    
    Stockholders’ equity   49,024       48,138       46,211    
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 630,471     $ 631,767     $ 638,926    
    Net interest income   $ 4,019     $ 4,112     $ 3,447  
    Average interest rate spread     1.81 %     1.88 %     1.30 %
    Net interest margin     2.66 %     2.68 %     2.21 %
                       
                       
                   
    Five Quarter Performance Ratio Highlights Three Months Ended
    June 30, 2025 March 31, 2025 December 31, 2024 September 30, 2024 June 30, 2024
    Performance Ratios (%) – annualized            
      Return(loss) on Average Assets   0.66   0.35   0.29   0.36   0.10  
      Return(loss) on Average Equity   8.44   4.53   3.94   4.98   1.37  
      Return(loss) on Average Tangible Equity   8.55   4.59   3.99   5.04   1.38  
      Efficiency Ratio   73.30   83.71   84.58   81.70   92.86  
    Yields / Costs (%)            
      Average Yield – Interest Earning Assets   5.17   5.18   5.17   5.13   5.16  
      Average Cost – Interest-bearing Liabilities   3.36   3.30   3.42   3.69   3.86  
      Net Interest Margin   2.66   2.68   2.50   2.30   2.21  
    Capital Ratios (%)            
      Equity / Assets   7.66   7.65   7.47   7.44   7.12  
      Tangible Equity / Assets   7.58   7.56   7.38   7.36   7.03  
      Tier I leverage ratio (a)   9.78   9.46   9.31   9.18   9.30  
      Common equity Tier I capital ratio (a)   14.35   13.81   13.68   13.67   13.81  
      Tier 1 Risk-based capital ratio (a)   14.35   13.81   13.68   13.67   13.81  
      Total Risk-based capital ratio (a)   15.60   15.06   14.93   14.92   15.06  
    Stock Valuation            
      Book Value $ 7.13 $ 6.97 $ 6.89 $ 6.85 $ 6.74  
      Tangible Book Value $ 7.05 $ 6.89 $ 6.81 $ 6.77 $ 6.65  
      Shares Outstanding (b)   6,927   6,927   6,900   6,878   6,884  
    Asset Quality (%)            
      ACL / Total Loans   0.93   0.91   0.91   0.90   0.90  
      Non Performing Loans / Total Loans   1.13   0.96   0.94   0.91   0.22  
      Non Performing Assets / Total Assets   0.98   0.86   0.84   0.81   0.19  
                   
      (a) Ratios at Bank level   (b) Shares information presented in thousands        
                   

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2025 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WILMINGTON, N.C., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE: LOB) (“Live Oak” or “the Company”) today reported second quarter of 2025 net income attributable to the Company of $23.4 million, or $0.51 per diluted share.

    Live Oak’s performance in the quarter, compared to the first quarter of 2025, includes these notable items:

    • Record second quarter production of $1.53 billion accompanied by strong deposit growth of $198.8 million, with total assets growing by 1.7% to $13.83 billion
    • Net interest income increased 8.6% and net interest margin increased eight basis points from 3.20% to 3.28%
    • 14.0% increase in revenue and 6.3% increase in noninterest expenses generated 29.4% increase in pre-provision net revenue1
    • Provision expense for credit losses of $23.3 million, a decrease of $5.7 million, driven by moderating credit trends, loan growth, and the current macroeconomic environment

    “Live Oak Bank delivered an outstanding quarter in Q2, driven by excellent growth, healthy revenue, and lower provision expense,” said Live Oak Chairman and CEO James S. (Chip) Mahan III. “We remain focused on supporting our nation’s entrepreneurs as they continue to navigate a backdrop of uncertainty while also providing the service, technology and financial guidance they need to succeed.”

    Conference Call

    Live Oak will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s financial results and business outlook tomorrow, July 24, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. ET. The call will be accessible by telephone and webcast using Conference ID: 25229. A supplementary slide presentation will be posted to the website prior to the event, and a replay will be available for 12 months following the event. The conference call details are as follows:

    Live Telephone Dial-In

    U.S.: 800.549.8228
    International: +1 646.564.2877
    Pass Code: None Required

    Live Webcast Log-In

    Webcast Link: investor.liveoakbank.com
    Registration: Name and Email Required
    Multi-Factor Code: Provided After Registration

    (1) See accompanying GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation.
       

    Second Quarter 2025 Key Measures

    (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)       Increase (Decrease)    
      2Q 2025   1Q 2025   Dollars   Percent   2Q 2024
    Total revenue(1) $ 143,747     $ 126,113     $ 17,634   14.0 %   $ 125,479  
    Total noninterest expense   89,293       84,017       5,276   6.3       77,656  
    Income before taxes   31,202       13,132       18,070   137.6       36,058  
    Effective tax rate   25.0 %     26.4 %   n/a   n/a     25.2 %
    Net income attributable to Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. $ 23,428     $ 9,717     $ 13,711   141.1 %   $ 26,963  
    Diluted earnings per share   0.51       0.21       0.30   142.9       0.59  
    Loan and lease production:                  
    Loans and leases originated $ 1,526,592     $ 1,396,223     $ 130,369   9.3 %   $ 1,171,141  
    % Fully funded   39.7 %     46.0 %   n/a   n/a     38.2 %
    Total loans and leases: $ 11,364,846     $ 11,061,866     $ 302,980   2.7 %   $ 9,535,766  
    Total assets:   13,831,208       13,595,704       235,504   1.7       11,868,570  
    Total deposits:   12,594,790       12,395,945       198,845   1.6       10,707,031  
    (1) Total revenue consists of net interest income and total noninterest income.
       

    Important Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    Statements in this press release that are based on other than historical data or that express the Company’s plans or expectations regarding future events or determinations are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements based on historical data are not intended and should not be understood to indicate the Company’s expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations or forecasts of future events or determinations. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or determinations, nor should they be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those presented, either expressed or implied, in this press release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include changes in Small Business Administration (“SBA”) rules, regulations or loan products, including the Section 7(a) program, changes in SBA standard operating procedures or changes in Live Oak Banking Company’s status as an SBA Preferred Lender; changes in rules, regulations or procedures for other government loan programs, including those of the United States Department of Agriculture; the impacts of any pandemic or public health situation on trade (including supply chains and export levels), travel, employee productivity and other economic activities that may have a destabilizing and negative effect on financial markets, economic activity and customer behavior; adverse developments in the banking industry highlighted by high-profile bank failures and the potential impact of such developments on customer confidence, liquidity, and regulatory responses to these developments; a reduction in or the termination of the Company’s ability to use the technology-based platform that is critical to the success of its business model, including a failure in or a breach of operational or security systems or those of its third-party service providers; risks relating to the material weakness we identified in our internal control over financial reporting; technological risks and developments, including cyber threats, attacks, or events; competition from other lenders; the Company’s ability to attract and retain key personnel; market and economic conditions and the associated impact on the Company; operational, liquidity and credit risks associated with the Company’s business; changes in political and economic conditions, including any prolonged U.S. government shutdown; the impact of heightened regulatory scrutiny of financial products and services and the Company’s ability to comply with regulatory requirements and expectations; changes in tariffs and trade barriers, including potential changes in U.S. and international trade policies and the resulting impact on the Company and its customers; a deterioration of the credit rating for U.S. long-term sovereign debt, actions that the U.S. government may take to avoid exceeding the debt ceiling, and uncertainties surrounding the debt ceiling and the federal budget; adverse results, including related fees and expenses, from pending or future lawsuits, government investigations or private actions; and the other factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and available at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). Except as required by law, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any factors or to publicly announce the result of revisions to any of the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect future events or developments.

    About Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.

    Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE: LOB) is a financial holding company and the parent company of Live Oak Bank. Live Oak Bancshares and its subsidiaries partner with businesses that share a groundbreaking focus on service and technology to redefine banking. To learn more, visit www.liveoak.bank. 

    Contacts:

    Walter J. Phifer | CFO | Investor Relations | 910.202.6926
    Claire Parker | Corporate Communications | Media Relations | 910.597.1592

    Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.
    Quarterly Statements of Income (unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

      Three Months Ended   2Q 2025 Change vs.
      2Q 2025   1Q 2025   4Q 2024   3Q 2024   2Q 2024   1Q 2025   2Q 2024
    Interest income                     %   %
    Loans and fees on loans $ 204,513     $ 195,616     $ 194,821     $ 192,170     $ 181,840     4.5     12.5  
    Investment securities, taxable   11,648       11,089       10,490       9,750       9,219     5.0     26.3  
    Other interest earning assets   8,123       6,400       7,257       7,016       7,389     26.9     9.9  
    Total interest income   224,284       213,105       212,568       208,936       198,448     5.2     13.0  
    Interest expense                          
    Deposits   113,380       110,888       113,357       110,174       105,358     2.2     7.6  
    Borrowings   1,683       1,685       1,737       1,762       1,770     (0.1 )   (4.9 )
    Total interest expense   115,063       112,573       115,094       111,936       107,128     2.2     7.4  
    Net interest income   109,221       100,532       97,474       97,000       91,320     8.6     19.6  
    Provision for credit losses   23,252       28,964       33,581       34,502       11,765     (19.7 )   97.6  
    Net interest income after provision for credit losses   85,969       71,568       63,893       62,498       79,555     20.1     8.1  
    Noninterest income                          
    Loan servicing revenue   8,565       8,298       8,524       8,040       7,347     3.2     16.6  
    Loan servicing asset revaluation   (3,057 )     (4,728 )     (2,326 )     (4,207 )     (2,878 )   35.3     (6.2 )
    Net gains on sales of loans   21,641       18,648       18,356       16,646       14,395     16.0     50.3  
    Net gain (loss) on loans accounted for under the fair value option   1,082       (1,034 )     195       2,255       172     204.6     529.1  
    Equity method investments (loss) income   (2,716 )     (2,239 )     (2,739 )     (1,393 )     (1,767 )   (21.3 )   (53.7 )
    Equity security investments gains, net   1,004       20       12       909       161     4,920.0     523.6  
    Lease income   3,103       2,573       2,456       2,424       2,423     20.6     28.1  
    Management fee income   —       —       —       1,116       3,271     —     (100.0 )
    Other noninterest income   4,904       4,043       6,115       7,142       11,035     21.3     (55.6 )
    Total noninterest income   34,526       25,581       30,593       32,932       34,159     35.0     1.1  
    Noninterest expense                          
    Salaries and employee benefits   49,137       48,008       45,214       44,524       46,255     2.4     6.2  
    Travel expense   2,576       2,795       2,628       2,344       2,328     (7.8 )   10.7  
    Professional services expense   2,874       3,024       2,797       3,287       3,061     (5.0 )   (6.1 )
    Advertising and marketing expense   4,420       3,665       1,979       2,473       3,004     20.6     47.1  
    Occupancy expense   2,369       2,737       2,558       2,807       2,388     (13.4 )   (0.8 )
    Technology expense   10,066       9,251       9,406       9,081       7,996     8.8     25.9  
    Equipment expense   3,685       3,745       3,769       3,472       3,511     (1.6 )   5.0  
    Other loan origination and maintenance expense   4,190       4,585       4,812       4,872       3,659     (8.6 )   14.5  
    Renewable energy tax credit investment impairment   270       —       1,172       115       170     100.0     58.8  
    FDIC insurance   3,545       3,551       3,053       1,933       2,649     (0.2 )   33.8  
    Other expense   6,161       2,656       3,869       2,681       2,635     132.0     133.8  
    Total noninterest expense   89,293       84,017       81,257       77,589       77,656     6.3     15.0  
    Income before taxes   31,202       13,132       13,229       17,841       36,058     137.6     (13.5 )
    Income tax expense   7,815       3,464       3,386       4,816       9,095     125.6     (14.1 )
    Net income   23,387       9,668       9,843       13,025       26,963     141.9     (13.3 )
    Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest   41       49       57       —       —     (16.3 )   100.0  
    Net income attributable to Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. $ 23,428     $ 9,717     $ 9,900     $ 13,025     $ 26,963     141.1     (13.1 )
    Earnings per share                          
    Basic $ 0.51     $ 0.21     $ 0.22     $ 0.28     $ 0.60     142.9     (15.0 )
    Diluted $ 0.51     $ 0.21     $ 0.22     $ 0.28     $ 0.59     142.9     (13.6 )
    Weighted average shares outstanding                          
    Basic   45,634,741       45,377,965       45,224,470       45,073,482       44,974,942          
    Diluted   45,795,608       45,754,499       46,157,979       45,953,947       45,525,082          
                                                   

    Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.
    Quarterly Balance Sheets (unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands)

      As of the quarter ended   2Q 2025 Change vs.
      2Q 2025   1Q 2025   4Q 2024   3Q 2024   2Q 2024   1Q 2025   2Q 2024
    Assets                     %   %
    Cash and due from banks $ 662,755     $ 744,263     $ 608,800     $ 666,585     $ 615,449     (11.0 )   7.7  
    Certificates of deposit with other banks   250       250       250       250       250     —     —  
    Investment securities available-for-sale   1,325,206       1,312,680       1,248,203       1,233,466       1,151,195     1.0     15.1  
    Loans held for sale   350,791       367,955       346,002       359,977       363,632     (4.7 )   (3.5 )
    Loans and leases held for investment(1)   11,014,055       10,693,911       10,233,374       9,831,891       9,172,134     3.0     20.1  
    Allowance for credit losses on loans and leases   (182,231 )     (190,184 )     (167,516 )     (168,737 )     (137,867 )   4.2     (32.2 )
    Net loans and leases   10,831,824       10,503,727       10,065,858       9,663,154       9,034,267     3.1     19.9  
    Premises and equipment, net   246,493       259,113       264,059       267,032       267,864     (4.9 )   (8.0 )
    Foreclosed assets   6,318       2,108       1,944       8,015       8,015     199.7     (21.2 )
    Servicing assets   60,359       56,911       56,144       52,553       51,528     6.1     17.1  
    Other assets   347,212       348,697       352,120       356,314       376,370     (0.4 )   (7.7 )
    Total assets $ 13,831,208     $ 13,595,704     $ 12,943,380     $ 12,607,346     $ 11,868,570     1.7     16.5  
    Liabilities and shareholders’ equity                          
    Liabilities                          
    Deposits:                          
    Noninterest-bearing $ 393,393     $ 386,108     $ 318,890     $ 258,844     $ 264,013     1.9     49.0  
    Interest-bearing   12,201,397       12,009,837       11,441,604       11,141,703       10,443,018     1.6     16.8  
    Total deposits   12,594,790       12,395,945       11,760,494       11,400,547       10,707,031     1.6     17.6  
    Borrowings   107,659       110,247       112,820       115,371       117,745     (2.3 )   (8.6 )
    Other liabilities   61,494       58,065       66,570       83,672       82,745     5.9     (25.7 )
    Total liabilities   12,763,943       12,564,257       11,939,884       11,599,590       10,907,521     1.6     17.0  
    Shareholders’ equity                          
    Preferred stock, no par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued or outstanding   —       —       —       —       —     —     —  
    Class A common stock (voting)   377,953       370,513       365,607       361,925       356,381     2.0     6.1  
    Class B common stock (non-voting)   —       —       —       —       —     —     —  
    Retained earnings   746,450       724,215       715,767       707,026       695,172     3.1     7.4  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (61,514 )     (67,698 )     (82,344 )     (61,195 )     (90,504 )   9.1     32.0  
    Total shareholders’ equity attributed to Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.   1,062,889       1,027,030       999,030       1,007,756       961,049     3.5     10.6  
    Non-controlling interest   4,376       4,417       4,466       —       —     (0.9 )   100.0  
    Total shareholders’ equity   1,067,265       1,031,447       1,003,496       1,007,756       961,049     3.5     11.1  
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $ 13,831,208     $ 13,595,704     $ 12,943,380     $ 12,607,346     $ 11,868,570     1.7     16.5  
    (1) Includes $303.8 million, $316.8 million, $328.7 million, $343.4 million and $363.0 million loans measured at fair value for the quarters ended June 30, 2025, March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024, respectively.
       

    Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.
    Statements of Income (unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

      Six Months Ended
      June 30, 2025   June 30, 2024
    Interest income      
    Loans and fees on loans $ 400,129     $ 357,850  
    Investment securities, taxable   22,737       18,173  
    Other interest earning assets   14,523       14,845  
    Total interest income   437,389       390,868  
    Interest expense      
    Deposits   224,268       207,356  
    Borrowings   3,368       2,081  
    Total interest expense   227,636       209,437  
    Net interest income   209,753       181,431  
    Provision for credit losses   52,216       28,129  
    Net interest income after provision for credit losses   157,537       153,302  
    Noninterest income      
    Loan servicing revenue   16,863       14,971  
    Loan servicing asset revaluation   (7,785 )     (5,622 )
    Net gains on sales of loans   40,289       25,897  
    Net gain (loss) on loans accounted for under the fair value option   48       (47 )
    Equity method investments (loss) income   (4,955 )     (6,789 )
    Equity security investments gain (losses), net   1,024       (368 )
    Lease income   5,676       4,876  
    Management fee income   —       6,542  
    Other noninterest income   8,947       20,796  
    Total noninterest income   60,107       60,256  
    Noninterest expense      
    Salaries and employee benefits   97,145       93,530  
    Travel expense   5,371       4,766  
    Professional services expense   5,898       4,939  
    Advertising and marketing expense   8,085       6,696  
    Occupancy expense   5,106       4,635  
    Technology expense   19,317       15,719  
    Equipment expense   7,430       6,585  
    Other loan origination and maintenance expense   8,775       7,570  
    Renewable energy tax credit investment impairment (recovery)   270       (757 )
    FDIC insurance   7,096       5,849  
    Other expense   8,817       5,861  
    Total noninterest expense   173,310       155,393  
    Income before taxes   44,334       58,165  
    Income tax expense   11,279       3,616  
    Net income   33,055       54,549  
    Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest   90       —  
    Net income attributable to Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. $ 33,145     $ 54,549  
    Earnings per share      
    Basic $ 0.72     $ 1.22  
    Diluted $ 0.72     $ 1.20  
    Weighted average shares outstanding      
    Basic   45,556,842       44,868,625  
    Diluted   45,825,543       45,583,146  
                   

    Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.
    Quarterly Selected Financial Data
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

      As of and for the three months ended
      2Q 2025   1Q 2025   4Q 2024   3Q 2024   2Q 2024
    Income Statement Data                  
    Net income attributable to Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. $ 23,428     $ 9,717     $ 9,900     $ 13,025     $ 26,963  
    Per Common Share                  
    Net income, diluted $ 0.51     $ 0.21     $ 0.22     $ 0.28     $ 0.59  
    Dividends declared   0.03       0.03       0.03       0.03       0.03  
    Book value   23.36       22.62       22.12       22.32       21.35  
    Tangible book value (1)   23.29       22.55       22.05       22.24       21.28  
    Performance Ratios                  
    Return on average assets (annualized)   0.68 %     0.30 %     0.31 %     0.43 %     0.93 %
    Return on average equity (annualized)   8.85       3.78       3.85       5.21       11.39  
    Net interest margin   3.28       3.20       3.15       3.33       3.28  
    Efficiency ratio (1)   62.12       66.62       63.45       59.72       61.89  
    Noninterest income to total revenue   24.02       20.28       23.89       25.35       27.22  
    Selected Loan Metrics                  
    Loans and leases originated $ 1,526,592     $ 1,396,223     $ 1,421,118     $ 1,757,856     $ 1,171,141  
    Outstanding balance of sold loans serviced   5,321,284       4,949,962       4,715,895       4,452,750       4,292,857  
    Asset Quality Ratios                  
    Allowance for credit losses to loans and leases held for investment (3)   1.70 %     1.83 %     1.69 %     1.78 %     1.57 %
    Net charge-offs (3) $ 31,445     $ 6,774     $ 33,566     $ 1,710     $ 8,253  
    Net charge-offs to average loans and leases held for investment (2) (3)   1.19 %     0.27 %     1.39 %     0.08 %     0.38 %
                       
    Nonperforming loans and leases at historical cost (3)                  
    Unguaranteed $ 59,555     $ 99,907     $ 81,412     $ 49,398     $ 37,340  
    Guaranteed   336,777       322,993       222,885       166,177       122,752  
    Total   396,332       422,900       304,297       215,575       160,092  
    Unguaranteed nonperforming historical cost loans and leases, to loans and leases held for investment (3)   0.56 %     0.96 %     0.82 %     0.52 %     0.42 %
                       
    Nonperforming loans at fair value (4)                  
    Unguaranteed $ 8,873     $ 9,938     $ 9,115     $ 8,672     $ 9,590  
    Guaranteed   60,453       58,100       54,873       49,822       51,570  
    Total   69,326       68,038       63,988       58,494       61,160  
    Unguaranteed nonperforming fair value loans to fair value loans held for investment (4)   2.92 %     3.14 %     2.77 %     2.53 %     2.64 %
                       
    Capital Ratios                  
    Common equity tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)   10.67 %     10.67 %     11.04 %     11.19 %     11.85 %
    Tier 1 leverage capital (to average assets)   7.90       8.03       8.21       8.60       8.71  
                                           

    Notes to Quarterly Selected Financial Data
    (1) See accompanying GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation.
    (2) Quarterly net charge-offs as a percentage of quarterly average loans and leases held for investment, annualized.
    (3) Loans and leases at historical cost only (excludes loans measured at fair value).
    (4) Loans accounted for under the fair value option only (excludes loans and leases carried at historical cost).

    Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.
    Quarterly Average Balances and Net Interest Margin
    (Dollars in thousands)

      Three Months Ended
    June 30, 2025    		   Three Months Ended
    March 31, 2025
      Average Balance   Interest   Average Yield/Rate   Average Balance   Interest   Average Yield/Rate
    Interest-earning assets:                      
    Interest-earning balances in other banks $ 727,715     $ 8,123   4.48 %   $ 581,267     $ 6,400   4.47 %
    Investment securities   1,408,942       11,648   3.32       1,379,797       11,089   3.26  
    Loans held for sale   381,531       8,008   8.42       407,953       8,612   8.56  
    Loans and leases held for investment(1)   10,843,303       196,505   7.27       10,388,872       187,004   7.30  
    Total interest-earning assets   13,361,491       224,284   6.73       12,757,889       213,105   6.77  
    Less: Allowance for credit losses on loans and leases   (186,022 )             (165,320 )        
    Noninterest-earning assets   539,485               534,133          
    Total assets $ 13,714,954             $ 13,126,702          
    Interest-bearing liabilities:                      
    Interest-bearing checking $ 350,978     $ 3,969   4.54 %   $ 350,491     $ 3,929   4.55 %
    Savings   6,241,053       56,529   3.63       5,540,147       51,604   3.78  
    Money market accounts   128,757       93   0.29       127,908       120   0.38  
    Certificates of deposit   5,392,494       52,789   3.93       5,563,004       55,235   4.03  
    Total deposits   12,113,282       113,380   3.75       11,581,550       110,888   3.88  
    Borrowings   109,463       1,683   6.17       111,919       1,685   6.11  
    Total interest-bearing liabilities   12,222,745       115,063   3.78       11,693,469       112,573   3.90  
    Noninterest-bearing deposits   375,503               342,482          
    Noninterest-bearing liabilities   53,717               58,739          
    Shareholders’ equity   1,058,572               1,027,547          
    Non-controlling interest   4,417               4,465          
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $ 13,714,954             $ 13,126,702          
    Net interest income and interest rate spread     $ 109,221   2.95 %       $ 100,532   2.87 %
    Net interest margin         3.28             3.20  
    Ratio of average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities         109.32 %           109.10 %
    (1) Average loan and lease balances include non-accruing loans and leases.
       

    Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.
    GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation
    (Dollars in thousands)

      As of and for the three months ended
      2Q 2025   1Q 2025   4Q 2024   3Q 2024   2Q 2024
    Total shareholders’ equity $ 1,067,265     $ 1,031,447     $ 1,003,496     $ 1,007,756     $ 961,049  
    Less:                  
    Goodwill   1,797       1,797       1,797       1,797       1,797  
    Other intangible assets   1,491       1,529       1,568       1,606       1,644  
    Tangible shareholders’ equity (a) $ 1,063,977     $ 1,028,121     $ 1,000,131     $ 1,004,353     $ 957,608  
    Shares outstanding (c)   45,686,081       45,589,633       45,359,425       45,151,691       45,003,856  
    Total assets $ 13,831,208     $ 13,595,704     $ 12,943,380     $ 12,607,346     $ 11,868,570  
    Less:                  
    Goodwill   1,797       1,797       1,797       1,797       1,797  
    Other intangible assets   1,491       1,529       1,568       1,606       1,644  
    Tangible assets (b) $ 13,827,920     $ 13,592,378     $ 12,940,015     $ 12,603,943     $ 11,865,129  
    Tangible shareholders’ equity to tangible assets (a/b)   7.69 %     7.56 %     7.73 %     7.97 %     8.07 %
    Tangible book value per share (a/c) $ 23.29     $ 22.55     $ 22.05     $ 22.24     $ 21.28  
    Efficiency ratio:                  
    Noninterest expense (d) $ 89,293     $ 84,017     $ 81,257     $ 77,589     $ 77,656  
    Net interest income   109,221       100,532       97,474       97,000       91,320  
    Noninterest income   34,526       25,581       30,593       32,932       34,159  
    Total revenue (e) $ 143,747     $ 126,113     $ 128,067     $ 129,932     $ 125,479  
    Efficiency ratio (d/e)   62.12 %     66.62 %     63.45 %     59.72 %     61.89 %
    Pre-provision net revenue (e-d) $ 54,454     $ 42,096     $ 46,810     $ 52,343     $ 47,823  
                                           

    This press release presents non-GAAP financial measures. The adjustments to reconcile from the non-GAAP financial measures to the applicable GAAP financial measure are included where applicable in financial results presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company considers these adjustments to be relevant to ongoing operating results. The Company believes that excluding the amounts associated with these adjustments to present the non-GAAP financial measures provides a meaningful base for period-to-period comparisons, which will assist regulators, investors, and analysts in analyzing the operating results or financial position of the Company. The non-GAAP financial measures are used by management to assess the performance of the Company’s business for presentations of Company performance to investors, and for other reasons as may be requested by investors and analysts. The Company further believes that presenting the non-GAAP financial measures will permit investors and analysts to assess the performance of the Company on the same basis as that applied by management. Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied, and are not audited. Although non-GAAP financial measures are frequently used by shareholders to evaluate a company, they have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of results reported under GAAP.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: reAlpha Announces Repayment in Full of the Outstanding Balance of Streeterville Secured Promissory Note

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DUBLIN, Ohio, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — reAlpha Tech Corp. (Nasdaq: AIRE) (the “Company” or “reAlpha”), an AI-powered real estate technology company, today announced that it has repaid in full the outstanding balance on its secured promissory note with Streeterville Capital, LLC (“Streeterville”).

    The secured promissory note, originally issued on August 14, 2024 with a principal balance of $5.45 million and an 8% annual interest rate, was scheduled to mature on February 14, 2026. Over the past year, reAlpha steadily reduced the outstanding balance through partial repayments in cash and equity, then repaid the full outstanding balance on July 23, 2025 using available cash, including proceeds from recent equity offerings.

    “The full repayment of our long-term debt marks a pivotal milestone for reAlpha,” said Mike Logozzo, Chief Executive Officer of reAlpha. “Now, we are well-positioned to accelerate our product development and market expansion, as well as pursue strategic acquisitions and partnerships that broaden our AI-driven platform for homebuyers.”

    Piyush Phadke, Chief Financial Officer of reAlpha, added, “With the note now fully repaid, we’ve strengthened our balance sheet and simplified our capital structure. We now have greater financial flexibility to support near-term growth initiatives and maintain discipline as we scale operations.”

    Following the repayment, reAlpha has no outstanding secured promissory notes or convertible debt instruments, leaving trade payables and subsidiary debt as its only obligations. Streeterville has confirmed in writing that all obligations with respect to the secured promissory note have been fully satisfied and the Company is released from all further obligations.

    Further information is set forth in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on July 23, 2025.

    About reAlpha Tech Corp.

    reAlpha Tech Corp. (Nasdaq: AIRE) is an AI-powered real estate technology company transforming the multi-trillion-dollar U.S. real estate services market. reAlpha is developing an end-to-end platform that streamlines real estate transactions through integrated brokerage, mortgage, and title services. With a strategic, acquisition-driven growth model and proprietary AI infrastructure, reAlpha is building a vertically integrated ecosystem designed to deliver a simpler, smarter, and more affordable path to homeownership. For more information, visit www.realpha.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    The information in this press release includes “forward-looking statements.” Any statements other than statements of historical fact contained herein, including statements by our Chief Executive Officer, Mike Logozzo and Chief Financial Officer, Piyush Phadke, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “plan”, “possible”, “project”, “strive”, “budget”, “forecast”, “expect”, “intend”, “will”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “predict”, “potential” or “continue”, or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: reAlpha’s ability to regain and sustain compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market’s continued listing standards and remain listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market; reAlpha’s ability to pay contractual obligations; reAlpha’s liquidity, operating performance, cash flow and ability to secure adequate financing; reAlpha’s limited operating history and that reAlpha has not yet fully developed its AI-based technologies; whether reAlpha’s technology and products will be accepted and adopted by its customers and intended users; reAlpha’s ability to commercialize its developing AI-based technologies; reAlpha’s ability to successfully enter new geographic markets; reAlpha’s ability to integrate the business of its acquired companies into its existing business and the anticipated demand for such acquired companies’ services; reAlpha’s ability to scale its operational capabilities to expand into additional geographic markets and nationally; the potential loss of key employees of reAlpha and of its subsidiaries; the outcome of certain outstanding legal proceedings against reAlpha; reAlpha’s ability to obtain, and maintain, the required licenses to operate in the U.S. states in which it, or its subsidiaries, operate in, or intend to operate in; reAlpha’s ability to successfully identify and acquire companies that are complementary to its business model; the inability to maintain and strengthen reAlpha’s brand and reputation; any accidents or incidents involving cybersecurity breaches and incidents; the inability to accurately forecast demand for AI-based real estate-focused products; the inability to execute business objectives and growth strategies successfully or sustain reAlpha’s growth; the inability of reAlpha’s customers to pay for reAlpha’s services; the inability of reAlpha to obtain additional financing or access the capital markets to fund its ongoing operations on acceptable terms and conditions; the outcome of any legal proceedings that might be instituted against reAlpha; changes in applicable laws or regulations, and the impact of the regulatory environment and complexities with compliance related to such environment; and other risks and uncertainties indicated in reAlpha’s SEC filings. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Although reAlpha believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. reAlpha’s future results, level of activity, performance or achievements may differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, and there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking statements. For more information about the factors that could cause such differences, please refer to reAlpha’s filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and reAlpha does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

    Media Contact:
    Cristol Rippe, Chief Marketing Officer
    cristol@realpha.com

    Investor Relations Contact:
    Adele Carey, VP of Investor Relations
    investorrelations@realpha.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: David M. Findlay Named to Indianapolis Business Journal’s Indiana 250 List for Fourth Consecutive Year

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WARSAW, Ind., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lake City Bank is proud to announce that David M. Findlay, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, has been named to the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Indiana 250 list for the fourth consecutive year. The annual list recognizes the state’s most influential and impactful leaders across business, philanthropy, the arts, government and not-for-profits.

    “It’s an honor to be recognized alongside such influential leaders making an impact in our state,” Findlay said. “This list highlights the incredible depth and strength of leadership we have in Indiana to keep our communities moving forward.”

    Findlay serves as the Chairman of the boards of directors and Chief Executive Officer of Lakeland Financial and Lake City Bank. He also served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2014-2023, President and Chief Financial Officer from 2010-2014 and Chief Financial Officer from 2000-2010.

    Findlay is active as a board member with many organizations including the Indiana Bankers Association, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, OrthoWorx, Accelinx, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, Parkview Health, Centerfield Capital Partners and the Trine University Board of Trustees.

    A full list of those included on the 2025 Indiana 250 list is available on the Indianapolis Business Journal’s website at www.indiana250.com.

    Lake City Bank, a $6.9 billion bank headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, was founded in 1872 and serves Central and Northern Indiana communities with 54 branch offices and a robust digital banking platform. Lake City Bank’s community banking model prioritizes building in-market long-term customer relationships while delivering technology-forward solutions for retail and commercial clients. The bank is the single bank subsidiary of Lakeland Financial Corporation (Nasdaq Global Select/LKFN). For more information visit www.lakecitybank.com.

    Contact
    Luke Weick
    Vice President
    Marketing Manager
    (574) 267-9198 x47279 office
    (260) 431-7061 mobile
    luke.weick@lakecitybank.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9db91f9b-e7b5-4a83-9feb-a1016dabf248

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana Increases Quarterly Cash Dividend for 12th Consecutive Year

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SHREVEPORT, La., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HFBL), the holding company for Home Federal Bank, announced today that its Board of Directors at their meeting on July 23, 2025, declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.135 per share on the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 18, 2025, to the shareholders of record at the close of business on August 4, 2025.

    James R. Barlow, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “This twelfth consecutive annual increase in our dividend rate, and 81st consecutive quarterly cash dividend, reflects our continued commitment to creating value for our shareholders and confidence in the financial strength and long-term prospects for our Company. Based on our earnings for the trailing four fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2025, the increase reflects a payout ratio of approximately 49.5%.”

    Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana is the holding company for Home Federal Bank which conducts business from its ten full-service banking offices and home office in northwest Louisiana. Additional information is available at www.hfb.bank.

    Statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words like “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate” and “intend” or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could” or “may.” We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

    Contact:
    Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana
    James R. Barlow, Chairman of the Board, President and
    Chief Executive Officer
    (318) 222-1145

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana Increases Quarterly Cash Dividend for 12th Consecutive Year

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SHREVEPORT, La., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HFBL), the holding company for Home Federal Bank, announced today that its Board of Directors at their meeting on July 23, 2025, declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.135 per share on the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 18, 2025, to the shareholders of record at the close of business on August 4, 2025.

    James R. Barlow, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “This twelfth consecutive annual increase in our dividend rate, and 81st consecutive quarterly cash dividend, reflects our continued commitment to creating value for our shareholders and confidence in the financial strength and long-term prospects for our Company. Based on our earnings for the trailing four fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2025, the increase reflects a payout ratio of approximately 49.5%.”

    Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana is the holding company for Home Federal Bank which conducts business from its ten full-service banking offices and home office in northwest Louisiana. Additional information is available at www.hfb.bank.

    Statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words like “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate” and “intend” or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could” or “may.” We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

    Contact:
    Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana
    James R. Barlow, Chairman of the Board, President and
    Chief Executive Officer
    (318) 222-1145

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: PredictIt Announces a Resolution to Litigation with the CFTC and a Bright Future Ahead

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WASHINGTON, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PredictIt is pleased to announce the favorable resolution of its nearly three-year-long litigation challenging the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s historical efforts to close the PredictIt Market. As part of the resolution, the CFTC amended its No-Action Letter (NAL) to permit transition of the Market’s leadership to a respected consortium of academics from America’s most prestigious institutions. As the second part of the resolution, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas entered final judgment in favor of PredictIt on Tuesday, July 22. That court order declares invalid the CFTC’s prior efforts and justifications for seeking to end the PredictIt Market. It also bars the CFTC from future efforts to close the Market based on its current structure and features.

    Together, these two pillars of the resolution lay a stable foundation for the PredictIt Market’s future. With the historical efforts to end the Market having been declared illegal and the judgment’s protections against future such efforts, Market participants may trade political event contracts on the Market, and the academic community may plan study of Market data, with confidence.

    As a sign of the progress and energy created by this resolution framework, PredictIt already has offered a series of new political event prediction markets and will continue to do so in the days ahead. These markets long have served as a valuable tool for public insight, academic research, and civic engagement.

    We extend our sincere thanks to Acting Chair Caroline Pham for her leadership, constructive engagement, and support for responsible innovation. Her openness has helped clear the path for regulatory clarity and stability in this in this important field.

    “With this resolution, PredictIt can continue doing what it does best—bringing transparency and insight to the political process through data-driven forecasting,” said John Aristotle Phillips, CEO of PredictIt operator Aristotle. “We’re grateful to our community of traders, academics, and supporters for standing by us. The future for prediction markets has never looked brighter.”

    “It was a long struggle to vindicate the rights of traders and academics to participate in the PredictiIt Market and to the invaluable information it provides about the most important political issues facing the Nation,” said Michael Edney, the lawyer representing the Market’s operators, traders, and academics in court. “Today’s outcome comes after crucial judicial decisions, including two from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, setting forth these protections. We are grateful to the courts and to the Commission’s current leadership for restoring stability to this national resource.”

    PredictIt looks to the future with optimism. We remain committed to transparency, compliance, and expanding participation in political forecasting through fair and accessible markets.

    A new chapter begins today—and we’re just getting started.

    Contact: 
    Brandi Travis
    +12707042462
    brandi.travis@aristotle.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: After 70 years, twisted gothic thriller The Night of the Hunter remains as disturbing and beguiling as ever

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben McCann, Associate Professor of French Studies, University of Adelaide

    United Artists/Getty Images

    In 1955, director Charles Laughton crafted one of the darkest, strangest fairytales ever to come out of Hollywood. The Night of the Hunter remains visually exquisite and profoundly unsettling.

    Shortly before Ben Harper is hanged for robbing a bank and killing two men, he hides the $10,000 loot in the toy doll of his young daughter Pearl. Only Pearl and her brother John know the secret – until the deranged serial killer-priest Harry Powell hears about the money and sets out to recover it.

    Harry marries Willa, Harper’s widow, and then, after killing her, pursues John and Pearl relentlessly across West Virginia.

    Set in the Depression-hit 1930s, The Night of the Hunter is, to quote film critic Pauline Kael, “one of the most frightening movies ever made”. Mitchum’s depiction of pure evil is one of cinema’s most vivid creations, with LOVE and HATE tattooed on the fingers of each hand.

    But this is no simple chase film. It’s about the fight for the souls of two children between the forces of evil and good.

    Gothic nightmares

    Laughton was an odd choice to adapt Davis Grubb’s original 1952 novel – the Oscar-winning British actor had never directed before. Yet Laughton’s “outsider” status meant he wasn’t bound by Hollywood convention and could follow his surreal instincts.

    The film draws heavily from German Expressionist cinema, especially in the use of stark black-and-white contrast and exaggerated shadows. Cinematographer Stanley Cortez described it as his best work, and rightly so: the film often feels more like a dream (or a nightmare).

    Laughton and Cortez craft a series of remarkable images: Pearl and John fleeing down the river, watched over by owls, frogs and rabbits; Powell’s looming shadow cast across a bedroom wall; the slain Willa’s blonde hair floating under the river after her death.

    The film is deeply allegorical. It plays with Christian imagery, ideas of sin and salvation and the vulnerability of the innocent.

    Laughton’s masterstroke was to pit the predatory adult world against the instinctual wisdom and resilience of children.

    Powell (played by Robert Mitchum in his greatest role) is no monster or madman, but a religious fanatic who murders under the guise of righteousness. He embodies the Gothic trope of the corrupt or false preacher. His looming menace turns small-town America into a place of paranoia, dread and moral confusion.

    Rachel Cooper (the silent film star Lillian Gish, never better), who protects the children in the second half of the film, stands as the maternal, angelic counterpoint to Powell’s demonic figure. Her role emphasises another key point of the film: the redemptive, almost sacred, power of kindness.

    A perfect performance

    As Powell, Mitchum drew on his uncanny knack at exuding charm and menace. Many actors would have clashed with Laughton’s expressionistic style, but Mitchum hit the perfect tone: heightened and theatrical, but never camp.

    His delivery is hypnotic, musical and terrifying.

    At a time when many stars were protective of their public image, Mitchum had no problem playing a child-killing religious maniac.

    Known for his rebellious streak and brushes with scandal (including a marijuana arrest in 1948), Mitchum wasn’t bound by Hollywood’s moral expectations. That gave him the freedom to push into darker territory with no vanity.

    That moral delusion, delivered with conviction, is what makes Powell so frightening. Mitchum’s Powell anticipates later predators like Norman Bates (Psycho) or Max Cady (the role he would play in the 1962 version of Cape Fear), but he also echoes much older archetypes: the Big Bad Wolf, the false prophet and the devil in a black coat.

    A flop turned masterpiece

    The film was a critical and commercial failure. Laughton’s bold and unconventional choices were risky. His blend of German Expressionism, Southern Gothic Americana and psychological horror was unlike anything American cinema had seen before.

    It did not align with the mainstream tastes of the era – the top grossing Hollywood films of 1955 were family-friendly, comforting offerings like Oklahoma! and Lady and the Tramp.

    Audiences and reviewers didn’t know what to make of this abnormal mix of fairy tale logic, nightmarish imagery and biblical allegory.

    So heartbroken was Laughton by the savage reception the film received (“a horrible yarn […] a repulsive picture”, one reviewer called it), he never directed again. Yet the reputation of his one-hit wonder has only grown over time.

    Successive generations of critics and filmmakers have caught on to its brilliance. Critic Roger Ebert said it was “one of the greatest of all American films”. In 2008, French film magazine Cahiers du cinéma voted it as the second-best film of all time, behind only Citizen Kane (1941).

    A long-lasting legacy

    Margaret Atwood, David Lynch and the Coen Brothers have all cited the film as a major influence. Spike Lee paid homage to LOVE and HATE in Do The Right Thing (1989). And surely James Cameron admired it, for what is Terminator 2 (1991) if not a rehash of Powell’s insistent chase-down of children?

    Its depiction of a charming, violent manipulator speaks to contemporary fears about religious hypocrisy and the abuse of moral authority. And it reminds us the bucolic innocence of rural America can hide evil in plain sight.

    It’s often the case that films which are misunderstood on first release are ahead of their time, and never fully appreciated until many years later.

    That’s the case with The Night of the Hunter. It remains unsettlingly modern, 70 years on.

    Ben McCann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. After 70 years, twisted gothic thriller The Night of the Hunter remains as disturbing and beguiling as ever – https://theconversation.com/after-70-years-twisted-gothic-thriller-the-night-of-the-hunter-remains-as-disturbing-and-beguiling-as-ever-251049

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: As seas rise and fish decline, this Fijian village is finding new ways to adapt

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Celia McMichael, Professor in Geography, The University of Melbourne

    Celia McMichael, CC BY-NC-ND

    In the village of Nagigi, Fiji, the ocean isn’t just a resource – it’s part of the community’s identity. But in recent years, villagers have seen the sea behave differently. Tides are pushing inland. Once abundant, fish are now harder to find. Sandy beaches and coconut trees have been washed away.

    Like many coastal communities, including those across the Pacific Islands region, this village is now under real pressure from climate change and declining fish stocks. Methods of fishing are no longer guaranteed, while extreme weather and coastal erosion threaten homes and land. As one villager told us:

    we can’t find fish easily, not compared to previous times […] some fish species we used to see before are no longer around.

    When stories like this get publicity, they’re often framed as a story of loss. Pacific Islanders can be portrayed as passive victims of climate change.

    But Nagigi’s experience isn’t just about vulnerability. As our new research shows, it’s about the actions people are taking to cope with the changes already here. In response to falling fish numbers and to diversify livelihoods, women leaders launched a new aquaculture project, and they have replanted mangroves to slow the advance of the sea.

    Adaptation is uneven. Many people don’t want to or can’t leave their homes. But as climate change intensifies, change will be unavoidable. Nagigi’s experience points to the importance of communities working collectively to respond to threats.

    Unwelcome change is here

    The communities we focus on, Nagigi village (population 630) and Bia-I-Cake settlement (population 60), are located on Savusavu Bay in Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second largest island. Fishing and marine resources are central to their livelihoods and food security.

    In 2021 and 2023, we ran group discussions (known as talanoa) and interviews to find out about changes seen and adaptations made.

    Nagigi residents have noticed unwelcome changes in recent years. As one woman told us:

    sometimes the sea is coming further onto the land, so there’s a lot of sea intrusion into the plantations, flooding even on land where it never used to be

    Tides are pushing ashore in Nagigi, threatening infrastructure.
    Celia McMichael, CC BY-NC-ND

    In 2016, the devastating Tropical Cyclone Winston destroyed homes and forced some Nagigi residents to move inland to customary mataqali land owned by their clan.

    As one resident said:

    our relocation was smooth because […] we just moved to our own land, our mataqali land.

    But some residents didn’t have access to this land, while others weren’t willing to move away from the coast. One man told us:

    leave us here. I think if I don’t smell or hear the ocean for one day I would be devastated.

    Adaptation is happening

    One striking aspect of adaptation in Nagigi has been the leadership of women, particularly in the small Bia-I-Cake settlement.

    In recent years, the Bia-I-Cake Women’s Cooperative has launched a small-scale aquaculture project to farm tilapia and carp to tackle falling fish stocks in the ocean, tackle rising food insecurity and create new livelihoods.

    Women in the cooperative have built fish ponds, learned how to rear fish to a good size and began selling the fish, including by live streaming the sale. The project was supported by a small grant from the United Nations Development Programme and the Women’s Fund Fiji.

    Recently, the cooperative’s women have moved into mangrove replanting to slow coastal erosion and built a greenhouse to farm new crops.

    As one woman told us, these efforts show women “have the capacity to build a sustainable, secure and thriving community”.

    The community’s responses draw on traditional social structures and values, such as respect for Vanua – the Fijian and Pacific concept of how land, sea, people, customs and spiritual beliefs are interconnected – as well as stewardship of natural resources and collective decision-making through clans and elders, both women and men.

    Nagigi residents have moved to temporarily close some customary fishing grounds to give fish populations a chance to recover. The village is also considering declaring a locally-managed marine area (known as a tabu). This is a response to climate impacts as well as damage to reefs, pollution and overfishing.

    For generations, village residents have protected local ecosystems which in turn support the village. But what is new is how these practices are being strengthened and formalised to respond to new challenges.

    A women’s cooperative have built aquaculture ponds to raise and sell fish.
    Celia McMichael, CC BY-NC-ND

    Adaptation is uneven

    While adaptation is producing some successes, it is unevenly spread. Not everyone has access to customary land for relocation and not every household can afford to rebuild damaged homes.

    What Nagigi teaches us, though, is the importance of local adaptation. Villagers have demonstrated how a community can anticipate risks, respond to change and threats, recover from damage and take advantage of new opportunities.

    Small communities are not just passive sites of loss. They are collectives of strength, agency and ingenuity. As adaptation efforts scale up across the Pacific, it is important to recognise and support local initiatives such as those in Nagigi.

    Sharing effective adaptation methods can give ideas and hope to other communities under real pressure from climate change and other threats.

    Many communities are doing their best to adapt often undertaking community-led adaptation, even despite the limited access Pacific nations have to global climate finance.

    Nagigi’s example shows unwelcome climatic and environmental changes are already arriving. But it’s also about finding ways to live well amid uncertainty and escalating risk by using place, tradition and community.

    The authors acknowledge the support of the people of Nagigi and Bia-I-Cake, and especially the Bia-I-Cake Women’s Cooperative, for sharing their time and insights.

    Celia McMichael receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC).

    Merewalesi Yee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. As seas rise and fish decline, this Fijian village is finding new ways to adapt – https://theconversation.com/as-seas-rise-and-fish-decline-this-fijian-village-is-finding-new-ways-to-adapt-261573

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: From grasslands to killing fields: why trees are bad news for one of Australia’s most stunning birds

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriel Crowley, Adjunct Associate Professor in Geography, University of Adelaide

    JJ Harrison/Wikimedia, CC BY

    Picture this. A small, rainbow-coloured chick emerges from its nest for the first time. It stretches its wings and prepares to take flight. But before the fledgling’s life in the wild has begun, a sharp-beaked predator swoops in, leaving nothing but a tiny skeleton.

    This is the sad scenario playing out on Cape York Peninsula, new analysis shows. There, trees are invading the open, grassy habitat of the endangered golden-shouldered parrot (Psephotellus chrysopterygius). The trees give cover to predators – meaning they can lie in wait, before striking the adult birds and their young.

    The golden-shouldered parrot is endangered, now found in just 5% of its original range. The new findings suggest more work is needed to restore grassland habitat to its former open state, to ensure the parrots’ survival.

    A vanishing species

    The initial decline of the golden-shouldered parrot was likely caused by a loss of food plants and degradation of the termite mounds in which it nests. Birds that remained in two small areas in central Cape York Peninsula faced other issues.

    In the 1990s, researchers began studying the parrot on Artemis Station, to better understand why numbers were declining. A new suspect was identified: native woody plants, such as the broad-leaved tea-tree (Melaleuca viridiflora), which had crept into the birds’ grassy habitat.

    The change was largely due to overgrazing, which reduced fuel loads and led to fewer fires. This allowed the woodland trees to overtake the grasslands. But exactly how were these trees affecting the survival of the golden-shouldered parrot? New research by my colleagues and I set out to answer this question.

    The above image shows the three phases of woodland invading the parrots’ habitat. Left, a few scattered trees establish around the nesting mound. Centre, tea trees emerge from the grass layer. Right, dense thickets of tea trees shade out the termite mounds.
    Gabriel Crowley

    Counting eggs, nest by nest

    We monitored 108 termite-mound nests over three years, tracking the success of 555 eggs. We visited each nest every few days to record whether chicks successfully fledged (grew strong enough to leave the nest) or died.

    We also counted the number of trees around the nests, and recorded signs of interference from predators.

    So what did we find? The proportion of nests that produced a fledgling from every egg decreased in proportion to the number of trees around the nest. The percentage of eggs, chicks and adults that were killed or disappeared from a nest also increased in line with tree numbers.

    That’s because the trees bring different predators – and places for them to hide.

    We suspected reptiles were the main predators. This was due to scratches on the nests and disappearance of eggs without any other signs of damage. While the exact species of reptile predator was hard to pinpoint, we know tree snake numbers increase as woodlands encroach.

    However, of all predators, we found butcherbird numbers increased most strongly as trees crept in. Butcherbirds tear prey apart with their strong, hooked beaks. Trees close to the nests give butcherbirds cover, enabling them to wait for adults or their young to emerge.

    Tragically, we found skulls of chicks pierced by the butcherbirds’ sharp bills. In one case, the shredded flesh of a bird was wedged atop a termite mound.

    Butcherbirds have strong, hooked beaks, which they use to tear apart prey.
    Conservation Partners

    Parrots successfully fledged from just over half of the 555 eggs we monitored.

    In the most dense woodlands, the number of birds that successfully fledged was just one-third of the rate needed to maintain the golden-shouldered parrot’s population.

    Adult birds were lost from one-third of the nests we studied. This is especially troubling. Modelling from similar tropical birds shows this rate of adult deaths can push a species towards extinction.

    Unusually, golden-shouldered parrots nest in termite mounds.
    Peter Valentine

    Restoring the parrots’ grassland home

    The world’s grassland habitats are under threat. This has devastating consequences for species that depend on them – including the golden-shouldered parrot.

    Our findings show Cape York’s grasslands should be maintained and restored to ensure the survival of the golden-shouldered parrot. Much work is needed to ensure the species avoids the fate of its closest relative, the paradise parrot, which is presumed extinct.

    Work is already underway. Golden-shouldered parrot habitat in national parks and on Indigenous-owned land has been destocked, and more traditional Indigenous fire regimes reinstated. This will help maintain open grasslands and reverse early woodland encroachment. Such work is also being undertaken at the study site on Artemis Station.

    Where woody plant invasion is more advanced, more intensive methods have been deployed. At the study site, this includes using chainsaws and brush-cutters to clear trees, before the stump is poisoned.

    Where woody vegetation is well established, trees must be felled to help restore grassland habitat.
    Conservation Partners

    Other measures include installing electric fences to keep out reptiles, reseeding grasslands with food plants and providing feeding stations in seasons when food is scarce.

    Land managers across Cape York have also been provided guidelines for managing woodland encroachment.

    These efforts must be sustained in the long-term, to ensure the golden-shouldered parrot can return to its former range.

    Gabriel Crowley undertook the work cited in this article with Susan Shephard (Artemis Station), Stephen Garnett (Charles Darwin University and Conservation Partners) and Stephen Murphy (Conservation Partners). Funding was provided by the Queensland and federal governments, Gulf Savannah NRM and WWF Australia. Gabriel has provided advice on golden-shouldered parrots and their habitat to the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation, Conservation Partners and Bush Heritage Australia as a volunteer and/or consultant. She is a volunteer for Helen Haines MP (Member for Indi).

    – ref. From grasslands to killing fields: why trees are bad news for one of Australia’s most stunning birds – https://theconversation.com/from-grasslands-to-killing-fields-why-trees-are-bad-news-for-one-of-australias-most-stunning-birds-259898

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Is sleeping a lot actually bad for your health? A sleep scientist explains

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlotte Gupta, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Appleton Institute, HealthWise Research Group, CQUniversity Australia

    Walstrom, Susanne/Getty

    We’re constantly being reminded by news articles and social media posts that we should be getting more sleep. You probably don’t need to hear it again – not sleeping enough is bad for your brain, heart and overall health, not to mention your skin and sex drive.

    But what about sleeping “too much”? Recent reports that sleeping more than nine hours could be worse for your health than sleeping too little may have you throwing up your hands in despair.

    It can be hard not to feel confused and worried. But how much sleep do we need? And what can sleeping a lot really tell us about our health? Let’s unpack the evidence.

    Sleep is essential for our health

    Along with nutrition and physical activity, sleep is an essential pillar of health.

    During sleep, physiological processes occur that allow our bodies to function effectively when we are awake. These include processes involved in muscle recovery, memory consolidation and emotional regulation.

    The Sleep Health Foundation – Australia’s leading not-for-profit organisation that provides evidence-based information on sleep health – recommends adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

    Some people are naturally short sleepers and can function well with less than seven hours.

    However, for most of us, sleeping less than seven hours will have negative effects. These may be short term; for example, the day after a poor night’s sleep you might have less energy, worse mood, feel more stressed and find it harder to concentrate at work.

    In the long term, not getting enough good quality sleep is a major risk factor for health problems. It’s linked to a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease – such as heart attacks and stroke – metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes, poor mental health, such as depression and anxiety, cancer and death.

    So, it’s clear that not getting enough sleep is bad for us. But what about too much sleep?

    Could too much sleep be bad?

    In a recent study, researchers reviewed the results of 79 other studies that followed people for at least one year and measured how sleep duration impacts the risk of poor health or dying to see if there was an overall trend.

    They found people who slept for short durations – less than seven hours a night – had a 14% higher risk of dying in the study period, compared to those who slept between seven and eight hours. This is not surprising given the established health risks of poor sleep.

    However, the researchers also found those who slept a lot – which they defined as more than nine hours a night – had a greater risk of dying: 34% higher than people who slept seven to eight hours.

    This supports similar research from 2018, which combined results from 74 previous studies that followed the sleep and health of participants across time, ranging from one to 30 years. It found sleeping more than nine hours was associated with a 14% increased risk of dying in the study period.

    Research has also shown sleeping too long (meaning more than required for your age) is linked to health problems such as depression, chronic pain, weight gain and metabolic disorders.

    This may sound alarming. But it’s crucial to remember these studies have only found a link between sleeping too long and poor health – this doesn’t mean sleeping too long is the cause of health problems or death.



    Read more:
    If ‘correlation doesn’t imply causation’, how do scientists figure out why things happen?

    So, what’s the link?

    Multiple factors may influence the relationship between sleeping a lot and having poor health.

    It’s common for people with chronic health problems to consistently sleep for long periods. Their bodies may need additional rest to support recovery, or they may spend more time in bed due to symptoms or medication side effects.

    People with chronic health problems may also not be getting high quality sleep, and may stay in bed for longer to try and get some extra sleep.

    Additionally, we know risk factors for poor health, such as smoking and being overweight, are also associated with poor sleep.

    This means people may be sleeping more because of existing health problems or lifestyle behaviours, not that sleeping more is causing the poor health.

    Put simply, sleeping may be a symptom of poor health, not the cause.

    What’s the ideal amount?

    The reasons some people sleep a little and others sleep a lot depend on individual differences – and we don’t yet fully understand these.

    Our sleep needs can be related to age. Teenagers often want to sleep more and may physically need to, with sleep recommendations for teens being slightly higher than adults at eight to ten hours. Teens may also go to bed and wake up later.

    Older adults may want to spend more time in bed. However, unless they have a sleep disorder, the amount they need to sleep will be the same as when they were younger.

    But most adults will require seven to nine hours, so this is the healthy window to aim for.

    It’s not just about how much sleep you get. Good quality sleep and a consistent bed time and wake time are just as important – if not more so – for your overall health.

    The bottom line

    Given many Australian adults are not receiving the recommended amount of sleep, we should focus on how to make sure we get enough sleep, rather than worrying we are getting too much.

    To give yourself the best chance of a good night’s sleep, get sunlight and stay active during the day, and try to keep a regular sleep and wake time. In the hour before bed, avoid screens, do something relaxing, and make sure your sleep space is quiet, dark, and comfortable.

    If you notice you are regularly sleeping much longer than usual, it could be your body’s way of telling you something else is going on. If you’re struggling with sleep or are concerned, speak with your GP. You can also explore the resources on the Sleep Health Foundation website.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Is sleeping a lot actually bad for your health? A sleep scientist explains – https://theconversation.com/is-sleeping-a-lot-actually-bad-for-your-health-a-sleep-scientist-explains-259991

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –