Bar Harbor Bankshares boosts commercial loans in second quarter

Photo / Tim Greenway Curtis Simard, president and CEO of Bar Harbor Bankshares, which owns Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, reported the bank had strong second quarter earnings compared to the same period a year ago.

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By Staff

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE: BHB), parent company of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, boosted its commercial loans in the second quarter — reporting its GAAP earnings of $8.5 million were 55 cents per share, compared with $6.6 million, or 42 cents per share in the same quarter of 2017.

Core earnings in the second quarter 2018 totaled $8.7 million, or 56 cents per share, up from $8.1 million, or 52 cents in the second quarter of 2017.

“Our teams had a successful second quarter as they executed on our strategies and delivered on financial performance,” President and CEO Curtis C. Simard said in a news release accompanying the earnings report. “We diversified revenue streams, grew loans under a uniformed brand and banking franchise, adhered to our strong credit culture and maintained a disciplined approach to expense management. Our commercial teams continued to gain market share as we grew commercial loans at an annualized rate of 9%. Our pipeline remains robust going into the third quarter, especially in commercial and industrial products.”

Total assets were $3.5 billion at the end of the second quarter 2018, increasing $30.1 million primarily due to growth in the loan portfolio. Total loans increased $20.6 million in the second quarter, with the majority of the growth driven by commercial products lines.

Simard said Bar Harbor Bankshares, which has 49 office locations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, unified those offices under the Bar Harbor Bank & Trust brand in April and they now operate under one name.

“Our brand identity as a 'True Community Bank' is at the heart of who we are and has further strengthened us as a result of this unification,” he said.

Looking ahead, Simard said Bar Harbor Bank & Trust will convert its current Visa debit card offering to Mastercard for all its customers. “The introduction of this card will allow us to further enhance security and fraud detection for customers to include EMV chips,” he said. “In addition to the issuance of new cards, a rewards program and instant issuance capabilities will be rolled out at all of our branches and customer driven Bar Harbor card controls will be provided through mobile devices.”