“We’re excited about the opportunities that our Company is seeing in the marketplace and that is reflected in this quarter’s growth in deposits,” said David Taber, President and CEO of American River Bankshares. “We’ve been successful in focusing our front line employees on providing excellent client service and as a result, it has given them the confidence to continue to bring in new relationships.”  Read the Full PR

Read the Full PR>>

David Taber, President and CEO of American River Bankshares, recently spoke at the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) 10th Annual Community Bank Investor Conference in New York City on Wednesday, July 29, 2009. 

A replay of the presentation is available at http://www.kbw.com/news/conferences.html and attached below.  It will be available for 60 days following the presentation.

AMRB recorded income before income taxes and loan and lease losses (or pre-tax pre-provision earnings) of $5,676,000 and a net interest margin of 4.98% for the six months ended June 30, 2009, compared to $6,690,000 and 4.96% for the six months ended June 30, 2008. For the second quarter of 2009, pre-tax pre-provision earnings were $2,428,000 and net interest margin was 4.87%, compared to $3,392,000 and 4.99% for the second quarter of 2008.

“Reporting the first quarterly loss in over twenty-five years is a disappointment, and is directly related to our $3.8 million loan loss provision and $253,000 special assessment payment to the FDIC,” said David Taber, President and CEO of American River Bankshares. “We’re being prudent with our evaluation of the loan portfolio and as a result, we have built our allowance to $7.8 million or 1.91% of total loans and leases.”

Taber continued, “While it is hard to look past the short term impact these issues have on profitability, we are proactively addressing the challenges faced by some of our borrowers and are pleased with both our ability to maintain a stable net interest margin and our pre-tax pre-provision earnings of $5.7 million during the first half of 2009.”

During the second quarter of 2009, the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.143 per share. The Company did not repurchase any of its common stock in the first half of 2009. As the dividend payout for the first half of 2009 exceeded net income, the Board of Directors has decided it is in the Company’s best interest to continue to build capital and temporarily suspend both the cash dividend and the stock repurchase plan.

“The Board of Directors felt it necessary to make the difficult decision to suspend the cash dividend due to the current economic challenges that both the Company and country are facing,” said Charles Fite, Chairman of American River Bankshares. “It is in the best interest to our Company’s long-term success to stick to our plan of building capital and increasing our reserves.”  Read the Press Release>>

He discussed the Company’s performance and current economic conditions. 

“The key to American River Bankshares continued success is our ability to deal with challenges from a position of strength,” said David Taber.  “That strength comes from our capital, our client base and our team, all of which are second to none.”

View pictures of the meeting on Flickr.

Presentations will be webcast live at http://www.wsw.com/webcast/dadco15/amrb/ and will be available for 90 days following the presentation.

Attached is the Power Point presentation used during the conference

American River Bankshares today reported diluted earnings per share (”EPS”) for the first quarter of 2009 of $0.22, compared to the $0.31 recorded in the first quarter of 2008. Diluted EPS has been adjusted for a 5% stock dividend distributed in December 2008. Net income for the first quarter of 2009 decreased $550,000 (30.0%) to $1,283,000 from $1,833,000 for the first quarter of 2008.

“Holding our own is the best way to describe our first quarter,” said David Taber, President and CEO of American River Bankshares. “The message of ‘consistency builds value’ and our ability to be profitable in good times and bad is as relevant today, as ever.”  Read the Press Release>>

A webcast of the presentation is available beginning March 4th at http://www.sandleroneill.com and will be available for 60 days following the event or download a copy of the presentation here.

As of of December 31, 2008, the Company’s profits exceeded $7.5 million and had over $63 million in capital.  Read the full PR: http://emailer.emailroi.com/users/amrb/PressReleases_4Q08$Earnings$PR.html

In a separate press release issued the same day, American River Bankshares announced that it has decided not to participate in the U.S. Department of Treasury Capital Purchase Program after receiving approval to participate in the program in November 2008. American River Bankshares applied for and was approved for a $6 million capital investment.  Read the full PR: http://emailer.emailroi.com/users/amrb/PressReleases_CPP$Decline$0109.html

Attached is a transcript of the call. 

Presentations will be available for 60 days following the event.  Click here >>

David Taber opened the call with these remarks: “I am pleased with the efforts and results of the entire American River Bankshares team.  We are strongly capitalized, our business is profitable and our core business is growing.  While we have a handful of loan challenges, they’re manageable.”

“I am fortunate to have an engaged board, a very hard-working executive team and a Company with 125 talented teammates, who take care of a very wonderful group of clients.”

“As I have said many times, I believe it’s a simple business - it’s just not easy.”

David T. Taber, President and CEO, and Mitchell A. Derenzo, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, both of American River Bankshares, led the live forty-five minute presentation and answer questions.