California First National Bancorp (NASDAQ: CFNB) today announced that
its Board of Directors has declared an annual dividend in the amount of
forty cents ($0.40) per share. The dividend will be payable on December
13, 2013 to all stockholders of record at the close of business on
November 29, 2013.
Since October 2009, the Board of Directors has pursued a dividend policy
that provided for one annual dividend payment in each of the past four
years. In 2012, based on a review of the Company’s capital resources and
changes in the tax laws that were to take effect in January 2013, the
Company made a significant dividend distribution in December 2012 that
was double the amount paid in the prior year. While the Board continues
to believe that it is in the best interest of its stockholders to
distribute a share of annual earnings to its stockholders, in light of
opportunities to expand the business, the Board of Directors believes
that it is appropriate to return the amount of distributions to a
normalized level.
At September 30, 2013, CFNB had a total net worth of $182.7 million, and
a total risk-based capital ratio of 32.9%. The dividend of $0.40
represents a payout of 55% of the Company’s net earnings for the twelve
month period ended September 30, 2013.
The Board will continue to review the Company’s dividend policy on an
ongoing basis, and the decision on dividends or the amount thereof in
future periods will depend on a variety of factors including the
business, economic and tax environment.
California First National Bancorp is a bank holding company with leasing
and bank operations based in Orange County, California. California First
National Bank is an FDIC-insured national bank that gathers deposits
from a centralized location by posting rates on the Internet, and
provides lease financing and commercial loans to businesses and
organizations nationwide.
Copyright Business Wire 2013