Civista Bancshares, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2017 Earnings

SANDUSKY, Ohio, July 28, 2017

"When we remove the impact of the 2016 loan recovery, our net income for the 2017 periods is comparable to 2016.  Our noninterest expenses have increased during the year due to lending staff increases in our new Westlake, Ohio office and additional lenders in our Mayfield Heights and Dublin, Ohio, markets.  We have already seen some results from these lenders and view their hires as an investment in future growth of the company" said James O. Miller, Chairman, President and CEO of Civista.

Results of Operations:

Net interest income for the second quarter of 2017 increased $427 thousand, or 3.3% compared to the same period of 2016 and for the six months ended June 30 increased $1.1 million, or 4.3%, when compared to the same period of 2016.  For the three and six-month periods ended June 30, an increase in average loans outstanding primarily contributed to the increase in interest income compared to 2016.  The increase in loan volume was mitigated by a decrease in loan yield.  The net interest income for both periods in 2016 included approximately $900 thousand of recovered interest income on a previous non-accrual loan.  Tax equivalent net interest margin was 4.05% for the second quarter, compared to 4.13% for the same period a year ago and was 3.86% for the six months ended June 30, 2017, compared to 3.81% for the same period a year ago.  Net interest margin was reduced in both periods due to the impact of additional interest-earning cash on deposit related to the tax refund processing program.  The impact to net interest margin related to the tax refund processing program through June 30 was a reduction of 16 basis points in 2017 and 38 basis points in 2016.