Guaranty earnings hold steady year-over-year

Springfield-based Guaranty Federal Bancshares, the holding company for Guaranty Bank, announced third-quarter diluted earnings of 11 cents per share, unchanged from a year earlier but up 115 percent from a 73-cent-per-share loss in the second quarter.

Total earnings for the quarter were $574,000, up from $299,000 in the third quarter of 2008.

The company noted that Federal Reserve rate cuts, which started in late 2007, continue to impact yield on loans and that nonperforming assets continue to increase. Those issues, however, were offset by a successful effort to increase deposits by $58.7 million - up 13 percent from Dec. 31.

The bank also has increased its asset totals by 8 percent, or $51.7 million, since Dec. 31, and the bank's equity-to-asset ratio increased to 7.2 percent from 5.5 percent over that time period.

Guaranty also noted that noninterest expenses increased during the quarter compared to 2008, due in large part to increased Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insurance premiums on all institutions. For the quarter, those premiums increased $248,000, or 300 percent, from the previous year.

Salaries, employee benefits and certain occupancy expenses also were up slightly due to new branches that opened in mid-2008.

Shares of Guaranty Federal (Nasdaq: GFED) closed Thursday at $6.42, compared to a 52-week range of $3.29 to $9.50.