First-quarter income at Seacoast Commerce Banc Holdings rose 28 percent to $1.7 million, Seacoast Commerce Bank’s parent company said Thursday.
Seacoast’s assets also grew about 20 percent to $526 million. But Small Business Administration loan production fell 21 percent to about $40 million. The bank has been holding onto more SBA-guaranteed pieces of the loans it originates to grow its high-quality asset pool.
“While our first-quarter loan production was down from last year, our pipeline of approved deals is strong and we feel confident we will achieve our year-end production goals,” CEO Rick Sanborn said.
The bank is the 14th-largest SBA lender in the country for the past two quarters, and the sixth-largest in California. Seacoast reiterated its desire to issue a dividend later this year.