First Northern Community Bancorp Reports Year End 2021 Net Income of $14.2 Million

First Northern Community Bancorp (the “Company”, OTCQB: FNRN), holding company for First Northern Bank (“First Northern” or the “Bank”), today reported year ended 2021 net income of $14.2 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, up 16.7% compared to net income of $12.2 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, for the year ended 2020. Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 totaled $3.2 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, compared to net income of $3.4 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2020.

Total assets as of December 31, 2021 were $1.90 billion, an increase of $243.7 million, or 14.7%, compared to December 31, 2020. Total deposits as of December 31, 2021 were $1.73 billion, an increase of $250.1 million, or 16.9%, compared to December 31, 2020. Total net loans (including loans held-for-sale and loans totaling $37.3 million made under the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)) as of December 31, 2021 were $853.8 million, a decrease of $31.2 million, or 3.5%, compared to total net loans (including loans held-for-sale and loans totaling $155.0 million made under the SBA’s PPP) of $885.0 million as of December 31, 2020. The decrease in net loans was primarily driven by payoffs and forgiveness on loans made under the SBA’s PPP. Excluding these PPP loans, net loan growth for the year ended 2021 was $86.5 million, or 11.9%, compared to the same period in 2020.¹ The Company continued to be “well capitalized” under regulatory definitions, exceeding the 10% total risk-based capital ratio threshold as of December 31, 2021.

Commenting on the Company’s financial results, President & Chief Executive Officer Louise Walker stated, “We are pleased to announce First Northern Community Bancorp recorded another year of strong financial performance for 2021. We posted year-over-year double digit growth in net income, total deposits, total loans (excluding PPP), and total assets. While total net loans decreased as a result of payoffs and forgiveness on loans made under the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, First Northern posted increases in commercial real estate, agriculture and residential mortgage loans. Other bright spots for 2021 included improving credit quality and growth in non-interest income including service charge income and debit card income, which was partially offset by a decline in gains on loans held for sale, compared to the year ended 2020.”