Western New England Bancorp reports Q4 EPS 12c, consensus 14c

Reports Q4 net interest income, our primary source of revenues, decreased $207,000, or 1.3%, for the three months ended December 31 from $16.4M for the three months ended September 30 to $16.2M. The decrease in net interest income was primarily due to an increase in interest expense of $1.1M or 11.3%, partially offset by an increase in interest and dividend income of $869,000, or 3.4%. The increase in interest expense was a result of competitive pricing on deposits due to the continued high interest rate environment and the shift in the deposit mix from low cost core deposits to high cost time deposits..James C. Hagan, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased with our fourth quarter results, showing loan growth with increasing loan yields. Total loans increased $35.9 million, or 1.8%, since December 31, 2022, while classified assets decreased 38.3% from December 31, 2022. The Company also maintained a strong liquidity position, covering approximately 146% of uninsured deposits as of December 31 .