WAKE FOREST, NC, December 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Wake Forest Bancshares, Inc., (OTC BB: WAKE) parent company of Wake Forest Federal Savings and Loan Association, today announced that the company reported a profit of $ 1,170,850 or $ 1.06 per share for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2020. The Company’s earnings for the previous fiscal year were $ 1,631,600 or $ 1.47 per share. Profit for the current quarter was reported at $ 268,550 or $ 0.24 per share compared to $ 254,566 or $ 0.23 for the previous quarter and $ 418,450 or $ 0.38 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2019.

Announcing the results, Renee H. Shaw, President and CEO, said that due to difficult times, the Company’s year-end and quarterly results were as expected and surprisingly slightly below budget. established at the beginning of the year. . The Company’s current quarter and full-year earnings have been negatively impacted by fluctuations in Federal Reserve rates over the past fifteen months, but more particularly in March 2020. The Fed has cut back 225 basis points rate combined since July 2019, including 150 basis points in March 2020 alone due to the economic impact of the COVID 19 pandemic. As a result, the Company’s interest rate margin contracted from 3.69% during its fiscal year ended September 30, 2019 to 3.23% for the end of the current fiscal year. As at September 30, 2020, the Company’s net interest rate spread was 2.96%. In addition, the Company incurred approximately $ 100,000 in data processing costs associated with a base processing conversion this year, which impacted results for the current year.

Economic conditions and residential home sales continue to be stable in our local markets. Our real estate markets benefit because we are part of the Research Triangle area which is consistently recognized as one of the best regions in the country for issues of innovation, economic activity and quality of life. Over the past quarter, selling activity has remained resilient not only due to historically low mortgage rates, but also due to stable home prices and tight home inventories. While there has not yet been a significant effect on the local housing market, the COVID 19 pandemic has created a dramatic increase in the local unemployment rate. However, the pandemic has yet to impact the credit quality of our loan portfolio, possibly because requested loan modifications and pandemic financial assistance in the form of stimulus payments and Higher unemployment insurance payments masked the potential long-term effects of the economic downturn. Earlier forms of government assistance have now all but disappeared and the future of additional government assistance is uncertain. In addition, the Company has made loan modifications to some borrowers directly affected by the pandemic, but these arrangements have also recently come to an end. The Company will continue to assess the actual impact of the persistent pandemic on credit quality and to consider any future adjustments or adjustments to its provisions for losses.

The Company’s loan portfolio has remained largely unchanged from current levels of a year ago. The Company was particularly satisfied with its credit performance over the past year as, given the economic impact of the pandemic, a significant decline was possible, especially since the size of the Company’s loan portfolio has not been distorted by any short-term PPP loan. In addition, the Company’s operations continue to be positively impacted by the absence of non-performing assets and the absence of the need for additional provisions for loan losses. The Company was delighted to report that it has had no issues with assets or loan write-offs during the current year. As a result, no additional allowance for loan losses was deemed necessary this year due to our high level of allowance for losses. The Company’s allowance for loan losses was approximately 2.11% of total loans receivable as of September 30, 2020.

The Company’s total assets were $ 107,452,350 as at September 30, 2020. The total loans receivable and deposits outstanding as at September 30, 2020 were $ 68,438,450 and $ 80,010,450, respectively. . Wake Forest Bancshares Inc.’s Level 1 leverage ratio was 24.43% as at September 30, 2020. Wake Forest Bancshares, Inc. has 1,097,790 common shares outstanding. Based in Wake Forest, North Carolina since 1922, the company operates as Wake Forest Federal from its office in Wake Forest (Wake County), North Carolina.

Contact:
Renee H. Shaw, CEO
(919) 556-5146