First Northern Community Bancorp Reports Year End 2020 Net Income of $12.2 Million

First Northern Community Bancorp (the “Company”, OTCQB: FNRN), holding company for First Northern Bank (“First Northern” or the “Bank”), today reported year ended 2020 net income of $12.2 million, or $0.90 per diluted share, compared to net income of $14.7 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, for the year ended 2019, and net income totaling $3.4 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, compared to net income of $3.6 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

Total assets as of December 31, 2020 were $1.66 billion, an increase of $362.8 million, or 28.1%, compared to December 31, 2019. Total deposits as of December 31, 2020 were $1.48 billion, an increase of $339.5 million, or 29.8%, compared to December 31, 2019. Total net loans (including loans held-for-sale) as of December 31, 2020 were $885.0 million, an increase of $112.0 million, or 14.5%, compared to December 31, 2019. The increase in net loans was primarily driven by loans made under the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) totaling $155.0 million as of December 31, 2020, which was partially offset by a decrease in agriculture and residential construction loans largely due to payoffs and decreased demand. The Company continued to be “well capitalized” under regulatory definitions, exceeding the 10% total risk-based capital ratio threshold as of December 31, 2020.

Commenting on the Company’s financial results, President & Chief Executive Officer Louise Walker stated, “While our annual net income went down $2.5 million from what we posted for 2019, we are quite pleased with our financial performance and believe we did a tremendous job in many areas of our business under the circumstances. With many of our local small businesses continuing to struggle from the ongoing effects of the pandemic, First Northern Bank’s relationship managers, branch personnel, and support teams have remained fiercely committed to doing everything they can to assist. The new digital and mobile banking platforms we launched in March 2020 have been a tremendous help to our clients with a long list of added features and benefits, and our employees are enjoying streamlined processes. And the April launch of our mobile wallets: Apple Pay, Android Pay and Google Pay could not have come at a better time—with the financial industry’s touchless payment adoption at an all-time high. Another bright spot for 2020 was in First Northern’s Mortgage Division. Mortgage loan production for the full year 2020 was $107.9 million, up 47.7% over the $73.0 million posted for the same period in 2019.”