Opus in Calif. Reports 44% Increase in Loans

Opus Bank's expansion into new areas of lending helped pushed its loans up 44% in the second quarter from a year earlier.

The $4.3 billion-asset company in Irvine, Calif., reported Monday that it added nearly $340 million in loans in the quarter, with $230 million coming from its income property banking division and $32.5 million coming from its health care division. Total loans increased 8% from the previous quarter.

The fast-growing bank has launched or expanded several business lines in the last year, most recently announcing that it would take its health care business national. The company, which was initially established as a vehicle to acquire other banks, said that originated loans made up 84% of its loan portfolio at the end of the quarter, compared to 69% a year earlier.

"Opus' accomplishments during the first half of the year position us well for a strong second half of 2014 and on into 2015," Stephen Gordon, Opus' chairman and chief executive, said in a press release. "Our performance included strong growth in loans with contribution from all lines of business …meaningful growth and diversification of our loan origination pipeline, and continued success attracting and hiring high-quality relationship bankers across our banking divisions."

The loan growth, however, did not result in higher earnings.

The company reported second quarter earnings of $10.3 million, down 45% from a year earlier and down 22.5% from the first quarter. The year-over-year change was largely attributed to the reversal of its valuation allowance against its deferred tax asset in the second quarter 2013. Other one-time events that affected earnings included a large gain on the sale of loans a year earlier and an $800,000 contribution to its community foundation in this year's second quarter.

The earnings per share of 32 cents beat analysts' consensus estimates by six cents.