Bank of Marin in Novato, Calif., continued to purge its balance sheet.
The $3.8 billion-asset company said in a press release that it earned just $610,000 in the fourth quarter after it sold $131.9 million of securities at a net pretax loss of $5.9 million. Proceeds were largely directed toward new loan originations and repaying borrowings, which should improve the net interest margin over time.
The company sold $82.7 million of securities in July at a $2.8 million net loss, offsetting the hit by recording a $2.8 million gain from selling Visa Class B restricted common stock.
“We believe that the full effect of the restructuring combined with selective growth in loans and the natural repricing of the existing loan book will continue to support net interest margin expansion,” Tani Girton, the company’s chief financial officer, said in the release.
“We will continue to look for opportunities to make incremental adjustments across our balance sheet and expense structure to enhance profitability and self-fund improvements in efficiency and organizational effectiveness,” Girton added.