Provident Bancorp, Inc. Reports Earnings of the March 31, 2016 Quarter

AMESBURY, Mass., April 21, 2016

David P. Mansfield, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We showed strong earnings this quarter with net income attributable to common shareholders increasing 54% quarter-over-quarter. Our net income is primarily attributable to our increased earning assets and increased net interest margin. Average earning assets increased 11.9% compared to the same quarter in the prior year.  Net interest margin increased 6 basis points to 3.59% for the three months ended March 31, 2016 compared to 3.53% for the three months ended March 31, 2015. Our efficiency ratio shows improvement going from 73.48% for the three months ended March 31, 2015 to 68.22% for the three months ended March 31, 2016. Total assets decreased $6.8 million or .9% to $737 million at March 31, 2016 compared to balances as of December 31, 2015. The decline was primarily the result of the decline of cash. Loans had a slight increase of $534,000. The loan increase is primarily due to commercial real estate increase of $15.7 million offset by decreases in commercial, construction and land development and residential of $1.4 million, $10.3 million and $3.2 million, respectively. The reduction in construction and land development is as a result of planned payoffs. Additionally, asset quality has improved over the last three months with non-performing assets as a percentage of total assets at 0.25% at March 31, 2016 compared to 0.31% at December 31, 2015. Total deposits increased $19.1 million or 3.3% compared to balances as of December 31, 2015. The increases were primarily in business deposit accounts. Total borrowings decreased $28 million to $29.4 million as of March 31, 2016 from $57.4 million as of December 31, 2015. We utilized our increased deposits to pay off the borrowed funds."

About Provident Bancorp, Inc.

Provident Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for The Provident Bank. The Bank, with branch offices in Amesbury and Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Portsmouth, Exeter, Seabrook, and Hampton, New Hampshire, is a commercial bank that exists to positively impact the vitality of the communities we serve.  We are committed to finding ways of impacting the success of the highest number of small and medium size businesses within our community by providing customized financial/banking solutions. To learn more about The Provident Bank, visit www.theprovidentbank.com or call 877-487-2977.

Forward-looking statements

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements, such as statements of the Company's or the Bank's plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as, "expects," "subject," "believe," "will," "intends," "will be" or "would." These statements are subject to change based on various important factors (some of which are beyond the Company's or the Bank's control) and actual results may differ materially. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements (which reflect management's analysis of factors only as of the date of which they are given). These factors include general economic conditions, trends in interest rates, the ability of our borrower to repay their loans, the ability of the Company or the Bank to effectively manage its growth and results of regulatory examinations, among other factors. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. Readers should carefully review the risk factors described in other documents of the Company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Current Reports on Form 8-K.