Home Bank of California, with a single office in Kearny Mesa, reported 2014 net income of $2.76 million, compared to $2.3 million for 2013.
Total loans at the end of last year were $108.2 million, compared to $86.7 million at the end of 2013.
Total assets at the end of last year were $121.5 million, compared to $99.2 million in the prior year.
Total deposits stood at $81.6 million, compared to $60 million at the end of 2013.
Home Bank has taken steps to move into lending guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, and recently hired Dale Heyden, a longtime SBA loan officer.
Founded in 1981 and owned by the Webb family, Home Bank has one of the deepest capital bases of any local bank. Its Tier 1 capital ratio was 18.7 percent, while its total risk-based capital ratio was 26 percent, nearly three times the amount that qualifies a bank to be regarded as “well-capitalized.”
CEO Bob Bray says the bank’s outreach efforts to capture core checking deposits has been spotty despite offering some of the best interest rates around. A business checking account pays 0.75 percent while a personal checking pays 0.45 percent annually.
“Those are probably the highest rates in Southern California,” he said.