Bancorp 34, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2017 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2017

OR

For the transition period from _______________ to ______________________

Commission File No. 001-37912

Bancorp 34, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(575) 437-9334

(Registrant’s telephone number)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such requirements for the past 90 days.

YES x   NO ¨.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

YES x   NO  ¨.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES ¨   NO x

Shares of the Registrant’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share, issued and outstanding as of May 3, 2017 were 3,438,190.

Bancorp 34, Inc.
FORM 10-Q

Index

Item 1. Financial Statements

BANCORP 34, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - UNAUDITED

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

BANCORP 34, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME - UNAUDITED

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

BANCORP 34, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY - UNAUDITED

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

BANCORP 34, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - UNAUDITED

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

NOTE 1 – NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING POLICIES

Bancorp 34, Inc. (“Bancorp 34” or the “Company”) is a Maryland corporation organized in 2016 to be the successor to Alamogordo Financial Corp (“AFC”), a savings and loan holding company, upon completion of the second-step conversion of Bank 34 (the “Bank”) from the two-tier mutual holding company structure to the stock holding company structure. AF Mutual Holding Company (the “MHC”) was the former mutual holding company for AFC prior to completion of the second-step conversion.  In conjunction with the second-step conversion, both the MHC and AFC ceased to exist.  The second-step conversion was completed on October 11, 2016 at which time Bancorp 34 sold 1,879,484 shares of its common stock (including 150,358 shares purchased by the Bank’s employee stock ownership plan) at $10.00 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $18.8 million. Expenses related to the stock offering totaled $1.3 million and were netted against proceeds. As part of the second-step conversion, each of the outstanding shares of common stock of AFC held by persons other than the MHC were converted into 2.0473 shares of Bancorp 34 common stock with cash paid in lieu of fractional shares.  As a result, a total of 1,558,706 shares were issued to persons previously owning AFC shares in the second-step conversion.  After the conversion and stock offering 3,438,190 shares of Bancorp 34 common stock were outstanding.

Because the conversion occurred on October 11, 2016, the financial information included in this report for all periods prior to that date is that of AFC and all share and per share information prior to that date has been revised to reflect the 2.0473-to-1 exchange ratio. The historical financial results of the MHC are immaterial to the results of the Company and therefore its net assets have been reflected as an increase in stockholders’ equity at Bancorp 34 in the fourth quarter of 2016. As a result of the conversion, Bancorp 34 now owns 100% of the Bank.

The Bank provides a variety of banking services to individuals and businesses through its full-service branches in Alamogordo and Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Scottsdale and Peoria, Arizona. The Bank also operates eight loan production offices in El Paso, Texas, Phoenix and Tubac, Arizona, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Kirkland and Puyallup, Washington, Medford, Oregon, and Littleton, Colorado. The loan production offices in Kirkland and Puyallup, Washington, Medford, Oregon, Tubac, Arizona, and Littleton, Colorado were opened in 2016.

A large portion of the Bank’s New Mexico loans are secured by real estate in Otero and Dona Ana Counties. The economy for these counties is heavily dependent on two U.S. Government military installations located in those counties. Accordingly, the ultimate collectability of the Bank’s New Mexico loans are susceptible to changes in U.S. Government military operations in southern New Mexico.

The primary deposit products are demand deposits, time deposits, NOW, savings and money market accounts. The primary lending products are real estate mortgage loans and commercial loans. The Bank is subject to competition from other financial institutions, regulation by certain federal agencies and undergoes periodic examinations by regulatory authorities.

Rising and falling interest rate environments can have various impacts on the Bank’s net interest income, depending on the short-term interest rate gap that the Bank maintains. The Bank’s net interest income is also affected by prepayments of loans and early withdrawals of deposits

Basis of Presentation – The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). In the opinion of management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial condition and results of operations at the dates and for the periods presented. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for the full fiscal year or for any other period. This information should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Basis of Consolidation – The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Bancorp 34 and the Bank. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

Reclassifications – Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period’s financial information to conform to the current period presentation.

Use of Estimates – The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Significant estimates include, but are not limited to, allowance for loan losses, useful lives used in depreciation and amortization, deferred income taxes and related valuation allowance, valuation of other real estate and core deposit intangibles.

Subsequent Events – Subsequent events have been evaluated through the date the consolidated financial statements were issued.

Summary of Recent Accounting Pronouncements:

Leases – In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02 “Leases (Topic 842).” This standard requires entities that lease assets to recognize on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by those leases. The standard is effective for fiscal years and the interim periods within those fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. The guidance is required to be applied by the modified retrospective transition approach. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently assessing the impact of the adoption of this authoritative guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

Share-Based Payments – In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, “Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting,” which simplifies certain aspects of accounting for share-based payment transactions, including transactions in which an employee uses shares to satisfy the employer’s minimum statutory income tax withholding obligation, forfeitures and income taxes when awards vest or are settled. The guidance also requires that tax benefits from employee share-based transactions be run directly through the income statement when realized as adjustments to tax expense or benefit. Therefore, diluted earnings per share computations no longer include an adjustment for estimated tax benefits. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-09 beginning as of January 1, 2017 and the adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.

Credit Losses - In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The amendments in this update replace the incurred loss impairment methodology with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to create credit loss estimates. The new guidance is effective for public companies that are U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filers for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 including interim periods within those fiscal years. For all other public companies, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years. For all other companies, including emerging growth companies, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. The guidance is required to be applied by the modified retrospective approach. Early adoption is permitted as of the fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. We are currently assessing the impact of the adoption of this authoritative guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

NOTE 2 – AVAILABLE-FOR-SALE SECURITIES

Available-for-sale securities have been classified in the consolidated balance sheets according to management’s intent at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016. The carrying amount of such securities and their approximate fair values were as follows:

There were no sales of available-for-sale securities during the three months ended March 31, 2017 or 2016.

Amortized cost and fair value of securities by contractual maturity as of March 31, 2017 are shown below. For purposes of the maturity table, mortgage-backed securities, which are not due at a single maturity date, have been allocated over maturity groupings based on the actual contractual maturities of underlying collateral. Expected maturities may differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may call or prepay obligations.

The scheduled maturities of available-for-sale securities at March 31, 2017 were as follows:

At March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, there were no holdings of securities of any one issuer, other than the U.S. Government and its agencies, in an amount greater than 10% of stockholders’ equity.

At March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, mortgage-backed securities included collateralized mortgage obligations of $9.5 million and $10.1 million, respectively, which are backed by single-family mortgage loans. The Company does not hold any securities backed by commercial real estate loans.

Gross Unrealized Losses and Fair Value – The following tables show the gross unrealized losses and fair values of securities by length of time that individual securities in each category have been in a continuous loss position.

At March 31, 2017, all of the government agencies and mortgage-backed securities held by the Company were issued by U.S. Government-sponsored entities and agencies, primarily Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, institutions which the government has affirmed its commitment to support. Because the decline in fair value is attributable to changes in interest rates and illiquidity, and not credit quality, and because the Company does not have the intent to sell these securities and it is likely that it will not be required to sell the securities before their anticipated recovery, the Company does not consider these securities to be other-than-temporarily impaired at March 31, 2017 or December 31, 2016.

Loans and securities carried at approximately $134.6 million at March 31, 2017 were pledged to secure FHLB advances. In addition, securities carried at approximately $5.3 million at March 31, 2017 were pledged to secure public deposits.

NOTE 3 – LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT, NET

The components of loans held for investment, net in the consolidated balance sheets were as follows:

At March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 commercial real estate loans include construction loans of $12.2 million and $7.9 million, respectively.

Allowance for Loan Losses and Recorded Investment in Loans – The following is a summary of the allowance for loan losses and recorded investment in loans as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016: 

The following is a summary of activities for the allowance for loan losses for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016:

Nonperforming Assets – The following tables present an aging analysis of the recorded investment of past due loans as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016. Payment activity is reviewed by management on a monthly basis to determine the performance of each loan. Per Company policy, loans past due 90 days or more no longer accrue interest.

The following table sets forth nonaccrual loans and other real estate at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016:

Credit Quality Indicators – The following table represents the credit exposure by internally assigned grades at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016. This grading analysis estimates the capability of the borrower to repay the contractual obligations of the loan agreements in accordance with the loan terms. The Bank’s internal credit risk grading system is based on management’s experiences with similarly graded loans. Credit risk grades are reassessed each quarter based on any recent developments potentially impacting the creditworthiness of the borrower, as well as other external statistics and factors, which may affect the risk characteristics of the respective loan.

The Bank’s internally assigned grades are as follows:

Pass – Strong credit with no existing or known potential weaknesses deserving of management’s close attention.

Special Mention – Potential weaknesses that deserve management’s close attention. Borrower and guarantor’s capacity to meet all financial obligations is marginally adequate or deteriorating.

Substandard – Inadequately protected by the paying capacity of the Borrower and/or collateral pledged. The borrower or guarantor is unwilling or unable to meet loan terms or loan covenants for the foreseeable future.

Doubtful – All the weakness inherent in one classified as substandard with the added characteristic that those weaknesses in place make the collection or liquidation in full, on the basis of current conditions, highly questionable and improbable.

Loss – Considered uncollectible or no longer a bankable asset. This classification does not mean that the asset has absolutely no recoverable value. In fact, a certain salvage value is inherent in these loans. Nevertheless, it is not practical or desirable to defer writing off a portion or whole of a perceived asset even though partial recovery may be collected in the future.

Impaired Loans – The following table includes the recorded investment and unpaid principal balances, net of charge-offs for impaired loans with the associated allowance amount, if applicable. Management determined the allocated allowance based on the present value of expected future cash flows, discounted at the loan’s effective interest rate, except when the remaining source of repayment for the loan is the operation or liquidation of the collateral. In those cases, the current fair value of the collateral, less selling costs was used to determine the allocated allowance recorded.

During the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, no interest income was recognized on these loans. Any interest collected was credited to loan principal.

Certain loans within the Company’s loan and ORE portfolios are guaranteed by the Veterans Administration (VA). In the event of default by the borrower, the VA can elect to pay the guaranteed amount or take possession of the property. If the VA takes possession of the property, the Company is entitled to be reimbursed for the outstanding principal balance, accrued interest and certain other expenses. There were no commitments from the VA to take title to foreclosed VA properties at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016.

Troubled Debt Restructurings – Restructured loans are considered “troubled debt restructurings” if due to the borrower’s financial difficulties, the Bank has granted a concession that they would not otherwise consider. This may include a transfer of real estate or other assets from the borrower, a modification of loan terms, rates, or a combination of the two. All troubled debt restructurings placed on nonaccrual status must show no less than six consecutive months of repayment performance by the borrower in accordance with contractual terms to return to accrual status. Once a loan has been identified as a troubled debt restructuring, it will continue to be reported as such until the loan is paid in full.

There were no troubled debt restructurings as of March 31, 2017 or December 31, 2016.

In the normal course of business, the Company may modify a loan for a credit worthy borrower where the modified loan is not considered a troubled debt restructuring. In these cases, the modified terms are consistent with loan terms available to credit worthy borrowers and within normal loan pricing. The modifications to such loans are done according to existing underwriting standards which include review of historical financial statements, including current interim information if available, an analysis of the causes of the borrower’s decline in performance, and projections intended to assess repayment ability going forward.

NOTE 4 – CORE DEPOSIT INTANGIBLE

The gross carrying value and accumulated amortization of core deposit intangible is as follows:

Amortization of core deposit intangible was $16,800 and $21,543 for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

NOTE 5 – FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH OFF-BALANCE-SHEET RISK

In the normal course of business, the Bank has outstanding commitments to extend credit and may have standby letters of credit, which are not included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The Bank’s exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instruments for commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual or notional amount of those instruments. The Bank uses the same credit policies in making commitments as it does for instruments that are included in the consolidated balance sheets.

Financial instruments whose contract amounts represent off-balance-sheet credit risk are as follows as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016:

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The Bank evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Bank upon extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation. Collateral held varies by and may include accounts receivable, inventory, property and equipment, and income-producing commercial properties.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Bank to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third-party. Standby letters of credit generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. The Bank’s policy for obtaining collateral, and the nature of such collateral, is essentially the same as that involved in making commitments to extend credit. There were no standby letters of credit at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016.

NOTE 6 – REGULATORY MATTERS

Bank 34 is subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by the federal banking agencies. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory and discretionary actions by regulators that if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the Bank’s financial statements. Under capital adequacy guidelines and the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action, the Bank must meet specific capital guidelines involving quantitative measures of the Bank’s assets, liabilities and certain off-balance-sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The Bank’s capital amounts and classification are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk-weightings and other factors.

The Basel III regulatory capital framework (the "Basel III Capital Rules") adopted by U.S. federal regulatory authorities, among other things, (i) establish the capital measure called "Common Equity Tier 1" ("CET1"), (ii) specify that Tier 1 capital consist of CET1 and "Additional Tier 1 Capital" instruments meeting stated requirements, (iii) define CET1 narrowly by requiring that most deductions/adjustments to regulatory capital measures be made to CET1 and not to the other components of capital and (iv) set forth the acceptable scope of deductions/adjustments to the specified capital measures. The Basel III Capital Rules became effective for us on January 1, 2015 with certain transition provisions fully phased in on January 1, 2019.

Additionally, the Basel III Capital Rules require that we maintain a capital conservation buffer with respect to each of the CET1, Tier 1 and total capital to risk-weighted assets, which provides for capital levels that exceed the minimum risk-based capital adequacy requirements. The capital conservation buffer is subject to a three year phase-in period that began on January 1, 2016 and will be fully phased in on January 1, 2019 at 2.5%. The required phase-in capital conservation buffer during 2017 is 1.25% and was 0.625% during 2016. A financial institution with a conservation buffer of less than the required amount is subject to limitations on capital distributions, including dividend payments and stock repurchases, and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers.

Quantitative measures established by regulation to ensure capital adequacy require the Bank to maintain minimum amounts and ratios of total risk-based capital and Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets, and Tier 1 capital to adjusted total assets. Management believes, as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Bank meets all capital adequacy requirements to which it is subject.

Banks are also subject to certain restrictions on the amount of dividends that they may declare without prior regulatory approval.

As of March 31, 2017, the Bank was categorized as well capitalized under the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action. To be categorized as well capitalized, the Bank has to maintain minimum total risk-based, Tier 1 risk-based, and Tier 1 leverage ratios as disclosed in the table below. There are no conditions or events that management believes have changed the Bank’s prompt corrective action category.

The Bank’s actual and required capital amounts and ratios are as follows: