Dime News

Dime Bank Annual Corporators Meeting

News Release - March 12, 2010

Norwich, CT - Dime Bank reported at its annual Corporators meeting Wednesday night that the bank's net income was up for the year with earnings exceeding $3.1 million. Jim Cronin, president of Dime, said that he was very pleased with the year's results given the difficult economic environment.

Cronin said the financial crisis that the country has been faced with over the past 18 months has made for a very challenging period for banks. As an example, the losses incurred by the FDIC as a result of 140 bank failures caused FDIC premiums to skyrocket by 364% at Dime, jumping from $249 thousand in 2008 to $1.156 million in 2009 and higher loan delinquencies necessitated a $1.25 million provision for possible future loan losses.

Cronin reported, as difficult as it was to incur those increased costs, the bright side is that most businesses would not have been able to absorb those kinds of increases in one year and still remain profitable but Dime did.

Cronin also talked about how the general public has become disillusioned by the practices and behavior of the large banks and conversely recognized that community banks did not participate in the same practices yet were now paying the price in such things as increased FDIC premiums. The public's response has been to withdraw funds from the mega banks and deposit them into community banks like Dime, he said.

In his report, Nick Caplanson, Dime CFO, commented that Dime's core earnings rebounded strongly due to the bank's diverse balance sheet. As a result, he stated that the bank's capital climbed to 10%, which is twice the 5% required to be considered a well-capitalized bank by the FDIC. Caplanson also reported strong loan demand with $173 million in loan originations. Additionally, he commented that retail deposits grew by $11.9 million.

About Dime Bank
With 10 locations throughout southeastern Connecticut and one in Westerly Rhode Island, Dime Bank is a mutual, community oriented financial institution offering competitive products to meet the needs of consumers, businesses, non-profits and municipalities. The hallmark of the Dime is the personalized manner in which it serves customers and supports its communities. Dime Bank is committed to providing a positive work environment where employees are valued and respected.

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