Bank Continues Rebound, Posts Top Profit Since ’91

Ventura County National Bancorp, parent of Oxnard-based Ventura County National Bank, is continuing a strong comeback, producing its highest quarterly profit since 1991 in the three months ended Sept. 30.

In its most recent quarter, the holding company netted $650,000, or 7 cents a share, compared with a profit of $566,000, or 9 cents a share, in the same period last year. The per-share profit declined in the latest quarter, because of an increased number of shares outstanding.

It was the fifth consecutive profitable quarter for the company, whose chief operating unit, four-branch Ventura County National Bank, is the county’s largest independent bank.

In the nine months ended Sept. 30, Ventura County National Bancorp earned $1.5 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a loss of $312,000, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier.

Richard S. Cupp, president and chief executive of both the holding company and the bank, attributed the financial improvement to aggressive cost controls, improved loan quality and an increased margin between interest received on loans and interest paid to depositors.

A total of $410,000 was contributed to the company’s loan loss reserve during the first nine months of 1995, down sharply from $3.3 million set aside a year earlier.

The holding company said it is now well above capital requirements set in an agreement with the comptroller of the currency. Ventura County National Bancorp also owns Frontier Bank, a two-branch bank headquartered in Orange County.