By pacbiztimes Monday, February 1st, 2021

Community West Bancshares saw its net income rise in 2020, even as it fell slightly in the fourth quarter of the year.

The parent company of Goleta-based Community West Bank reported a net income of $8.2 million, or 97 cents per diluted share, for all of 2020, as compared to $8 million, or 93 cents per share, for the full year in 2019. In the fourth quarter, the bank earned $2.6 million, or 31 cents per diluted share, down slightly from the fourth quarter of 2019, when it earned $2.7 million, or 32 cents per share, according to a Feb. 1 earnings release.

Community West reduced its provision for loan losses in the fourth quarter, taking $44,000 from the fund instead of adding to it. The bank has put $2.1 million towards the provision this year because of challenges from the pandemic and the accompanying financial insecurity, reversing its position from the previous year, when the bank had a provision credit of just $165,000.

Community West also generated 501 loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program in 2020, for a total of $69.5 million. The bank’s total assets fell below $1 billion in the fourth quarter, after topping that benchmark in the third quarter of 2020.

The bank also announced that its board increased its quarterly cash dividend by 20%, to 6 cents per common share, reinstated its previously suspended stock repurchase program.