First Northern Community Bancorp Reports Second Quarter 2023 Net Income of $4.6 Million

First Northern Community Bancorp (the “Company”) (OTCQB: FNRN), holding company for First Northern Bank (“First Northern” or the “Bank”), today reported net income of $10.1 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2023, up 52.6% compared to net income of $6.6 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Net income for the year includes the bargain purchase gain resulting from our acquisition completed in the first quarter of 2023. On an after-tax basis, the bargain gain contributed $1.0 million to net income for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 was $4.6 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, up 28.7% compared to net income of $3.5 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Total assets as of June 30, 2023 were $1.91 billion, an increase of $16.7 million, or 0.9%, compared to June 30, 2022. Total deposits as of June 30, 2023 were $1.76 billion, an increase of $7.5 million, or 0.4%, compared to June 30, 2022. Total net loans (including loans held-for-sale) as of June 30, 2023 were $1.0 billion, an increase of $86.8 million, or 9.3%, compared to total net loans (including loans held-for-sale) of $931.9 million as of June 30, 2022. The increase in net loans was primarily driven by growth in commercial real estate and residential mortgage loans partially offset by net reductions in commercial and agricultural loans.

The Company continued to be “well capitalized” under regulatory definitions, exceeding the 10% total risk-based capital ratio threshold as of June 30, 2023.

Commenting on the Company’s financial results, First Northern’s President & Chief Executive Officer Jeremiah Smith stated, “The Company continues to perform well in the current interest rate environment with interest rate spread continuing to widen in the second quarter of 2023. The Company experienced positive loan growth during the quarter, which improved our earning asset mix, and the loan pipeline continues to provide quality investment opportunities at improved yields when compared to recent years. We also recognized a substantial paydown this quarter on a non-performing agricultural loan relationship. This paydown resulted in a recovery totaling $2.0 million, including $1.3 million in back interest and $0.7 million in expense recoveries.