| 
Admirals Bank continues to slow losses as it works to bring itself back to profitability.
The bank reported first quarter losses of $1.28 million, down from nearly $4 million in losses in the first quarter of 2017. Since the bank reported roughly $15.2 million in losses through the first half of 2017, it has reduced losses in every quarter since – $2.9 million in the third quarter and $1.9 million in losses in the fourth quarter.
“In a nutshell, I was pretty pleased because I have only been there less than a year,” Admirals Bank CEO Marc White told Banker & Tradesman. “I am pleased with the direction the bank is headed in.”
White joined Admirals after a series of missteps by the bank. After a number of years of losses, federal regulators imposed a consent order on the bank. Then a deal to acquire most of Admiral’s assets fell apart and former CEO Nicholas Lazares left the bank shortly after. The bank reported annual losses of $19.7 million in 2017.
Since then, Admirals has been making progress under White, who said a lot of savings have come from reducing the bank’s footprint, keeping professional fees down and shrinking the bank’s work force since mid-2017. The bank also did not rack up any significant expenses in the first quarter related to attorney, marketing or consulting fees, as it did in 2017.
Still, total assets, which were about $274 million at the end of the first quarter, are down about $13 million from the linked quarter. But the bank is now in the process of recapitalizing in order to transition to more of a traditional bank model, and White thinks once that process is complete, head count and assets will start to rise again.
The former JPMorgan executive said the bank over the last six weeks has started to make gains in deposit gathering, offering special promotions such as 2 percent on money market accounts and 2.82 percent on an 18-month certificate of deposit, which is as good as it comes right now.
Although he did not provide specifics, White said the bank is also making progress on resolving the issues raised in the enforcement order. He hopes the bank will be profitable again in 2019.
