Centier comes back strong

Jul 31, 2010 — The Times

Bowdeya Tweh

Jul. 31, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Merrillville-based Centier Bank finished the first half of 2010 with a profit of $5.5 million, bank President and CEO Michael Schrage said.

"We saw continued increases in our earnings, capital, deposit and loan growth," Schrage said. "After a setback in 2009, we are witnessing a strong comeback in 2010. We anticipate our positive growth trend to continue throughout the year as the economy begins to show signs of improvement."

The setback Schrage described was a $26 million loss in 2009.

Schrage said the improvement in performance was the result of strong net interest margins, loan growth and reduced write-downs of loans and securities. The bank's net interest margin in the first six months of 2010 was $34 million, up 17.2 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The bank also touted reaching the $250 million mark this summer on consumer loan balances outstanding. Total loans at the bank increased $18.4 million to reach $1.64 billion in the first half of 2010.

As of June 30, Centier held $2.04 billion of assets.

Centier, the 115-year-old privately held institution founded in Whiting, said it remained "well capitalized" according to regulatory standards.

Centier has 45 Northwest Indiana locations, including two retail centers in Plymouth and business banking centers in Fort Wayne, Mishawaka and Lafayette. The bank will open its first full-service retail branch in Lafayette in August.

Earlier this year, Centier received the No. 1 ranking in the Indiana Chamber of Commerce's Best Place to Work in Indiana contest.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0129-47492893