Community Investors Bancorp, Inc. Reports Net Income For The Nine Months and Three Months Ended March 31, 2017

BUCYRUS, Ohio, May 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Investors Bancorp, Inc. (OTC-PINK: CIBN), parent company of First Federal Community Bank of Bucyrus, reported net earnings available to common shareholders of $459,000 or $.58 per common share for the nine months ended March 31, 2017, representing a decrease of $284,000, (38.2%), compared to the net earnings of $743,000, or $.93 per common share reported for the nine months ended March 31, 2016.  The decrease in earnings generally reflects an increase in general, administrative and other expenses of $287,000 net of the income tax effect of the increase in expenses. Other income saw a large drop due to reduced loan volumes in the secondary market as well as reduced gains- net of commissions paid to our loan originators. Net interest income, provision for loan losses and other income remained relatively unchanged. Net interest margin has remained relatively stable but an increase in the cost of funds is putting additional pressure over the past few months. Provision for loan losses was slightly lower due to increased collection efforts which have resulted in recoveries, although write-offs and write-downs in the first nine months have more than offset recoveries plus our provision for loan loss. General, administrative and other expenses increased due to increases in technology consulting, core processing, salaries and wages and professional expenses. Our management team has been focused on all areas of our operations to reduce expenses. We have prioritized the aforementioned areas to limit and/or reduce future costs. At the same time, we will not sacrifice service or safety to cut our expenses. We have reduced classified assets but great challenges remain as we have increased our collection and credit monitoring to further reduce classified assets. Real estate transactions in the local market remain slow but improving, making our efforts and efficiencies in our mortgage loan origination offices even more critical. We are going about the hard work it takes to reduce expenses without compromising our services, our security or regulatory compliance. It will take some lead time to see the results of our efforts, but we expect to reduce expenses and improve profitability as we go into our next fiscal year. We have set high but achievable goals for the Bank in the upcoming months and years. New opportunities and potential new customers await us in all of our market areas. Meeting the challenges of our own expectations, as well as yours, requires us to constantly upgrade customer solutions and access while improving efficiency and profitability without compromising security.