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Cambridge Bancorp, the holding company for Cambridge Trust, reported $14.8 million in net income, a decrease of 12.3 percent compared to last year, after taking a nearly $4 million write down due to tax reform.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $964,000, representing a 78.2 percent decrease from net income in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Despite the year-over-year decrease in net income, the company put strategic initiatives in place, saying it would focus on private banking and continue to grow its wealth management business, which grew almost 15 percent from the year prior, bringing total assets under management to $3.1 billion. The company in September hired Marc Thompson, the former CEO of Boston Private Bank & Trust Co., as a president and director of the company to oversee private banking activities, including wealth management, consumer banking and marketing.
“We ended 2017 with continued strong earnings during the fourth quarter, excluding the impact of the change in corporate tax rates,” Denis K. Sheahan, CEO of the company, said in a statement. “Our strategic focus of delivering private banking services to clients continues to position us favorably in the Greater Boston market, and we have begun investing in greater business development efforts for future growth.”
Total assets at the now $1.95 billion asset bank grew more than $100 million year-over-year. The bulk of that growth was in deposits as total loans grew about $30 million year-over-year. Net interest income for the year was $57.6 million, up almost $3 million from 2016.
The net interest margin remained fairly steady finishing the year at 3.26 percent, up just two basis points from 2016.
Noninterest income for 2017 came in at $30.2 million, up about $1.5 million from 2016.
The provision for loan losses on the year was $362,000, up from $132,000 in 2016. Loan quality remained solid with non-performing loans totaling $1.3 million, or .10 percent of total loans.
