Westfield Bank Reports Increase in Income for Quarter

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Westfield Financial, Inc. (NasdaqGS:WFD), the holding company for Westfield Bank, reported net income of $1.6 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, compared to $1.4 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, which represents a 14.0% increase in net income over the third quarter 2012.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, net income was $4.9 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, compared to $4.7 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the same period in 2012, which represents a 5.2% increase in net income over the same period in 2012.

President and CEO, James C. Hagan, stated, “The results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2013 demonstrate the Bank’s ongoing commitment and focus on commercial lending growth.  We have taken steps to change our asset mix by decreasing the securities portfolio while increasing loans, thereby improving our net interest margin and return on assets.”

Total loans increased $37.5 million, or 6.4%, at September 30, 2013 compared to September 30, 2012.   This was primarily due to increases in commercial real estate loans of $17.0 million, commercial and industrial loans of $11.0 million, and residential loans of $10.0 million.  On a linked-quarter basis, total loans increased $13.6 million, or 2.2%, to $620.2 million for the third quarter 2013.  This was primarily due to an increase in commercial real estate loans of $13.7 million.