Parke Bank‘s parent, Parke Bancorp (NASDAQ: PKBK), reported last week that its cannabis-related deposits surged nearly 57% in the fourth quarter, showing signs of recovery as interest rates begin to ease.
Overall annual profits dipped 3.3% to $27.5 million in 2024, while fourth-quarter earnings fell 9.5% to $7.4 million despite revenue growing 4.4% to $34.5 million. Higher credit loss provisions and operating costs squeezed margins.
However, the bank’s cannabis focus helped drive total deposits up 5% to $1.63 billion versus the end of 2023. Cannabis-related deposits jumped from $96.7 million to $151.9 million year-over-year – though still below the peak of $177.3 million seen in 2022.
“Although we are disappointed with the higher than anticipated interest expense negatively affecting our net interest income, we are pleased that we generated strong earnings in 2024,” CEO Vito Pantilione said in a statement.
The bank reported total assets grew 5.9% to $2.14 billion, while its loan portfolio expanded 4.5% to $1.87 billion, driven mostly by growth in multi-family lending.
Non-performing loans increased to $11.8 million, representing 0.63% of total loans, up from $7.3 million at the end of 2023. However, the bank maintained an allowance for credit losses of $32.6 million, or 1.74% of total loans.
Pantilione gave cautious optimism about 2025, saying the bank’s strong equity position exceeding $300 million puts it in a good position to pursue new lending markets “while maintaining our focus on supporting our shareholders confidence in investing in our company.”
[[{“value”:”The regional lender is seeing marijuana deposits rebound after a 2023 exodus, even as overall profits dipped.
The post Cannabis boosts Parke Bancorp’s fourth-quarter deposits appeared first on Green Market Report.”}]] Read More
