Ventura Bancorp Reports 19% Rise in Net Income

Ventura County National Bancorp announced net income for the quarter ended March 31 of $326,000, an increase of 19% over the $273,000 posted in the first quarter of 1995.

Pretax earnings increased by more than 100%.

Both of the company’s subsidiary banks, Ventura County National Bank in Ventura and Frontier Bank N.A. in La Palma, contributed to the increase in profits.

The net interest margin remains strong at 6.01%, due primarily to the company’s growing core deposit base, said President and Chief Executive Officer Richard S. Cupp.

Although income increased substantially during the first quarter of 1996 compared with the same period a year ago, the earnings-per-share calculation was affected by the 1.9-million shares outstanding from a rights offering in the second quarter of 1995.

The earnings per share for the first quarter of 1996 was 4 cents, compared with 3 cents in the first quarter of 1995.

“The company significantly increased its marketing efforts to small and mid-size companies during the first quarter to ensure that this important segment is well served in the wake of the Wells Fargo-First Interstate merger,” Cupp said.

The company increased net loans during the first quarter by $4.7 million over year-end 1995.