Meta Financial Group reports record annual income
Oct. 30, 2020
Sioux Falls-based Meta Financial Group ended its fiscal year on a high note with record earnings for the year.
Net income for the year was $104.7 million, or $2.94 per share, compared with $97 million, or $2.49 per share, for fiscal 2019.
Net income for the fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30, was $13.2 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with $20.2 million, or 53 cents per share, a year ago.
“I am extremely proud of our team for executing on our plan and our ability to deliver strong financial results and value to shareholders despite numerous challenges we faced during fiscal 2020,” president and CEO Brad Hanson said in a statement.
“We will continue to be diligent in monitoring credit, managing excess capital and focusing on our long-term strategic plan in order to better serve our customers and shareholders.”
Meta is participating in the Paycheck Protection Program, which is being administered by the Small Business Administration, and had 689 loans with $219 million outstanding as of Sept. 30.
“From a credit perspective, the company continues to closely monitor each of its lending portfolios,” Meta said.
“The company has placed significant focus on its hospitality and movie theater loans and its small-ticket equipment finance relationships. The credit management team has remained in regular contact with these borrowers.”
The company’s community bank hospitality loan balances increased to $179.3 million as of Sept. 30 from $169 million as of June 30, and the average loan-to-value ratio on those loans was 60 percent at the end of both quarters. Two-thirds of the hospitality relationships received PPP loans and, at the end of the fourth quarter, 44 percent of the hospitality loan balances received some form of payment deferral modification and were still in their active deferment period.
Community bank loans to borrowers operating in the movie theater industry totaled $17.9 million as of both Sept. 30 and June 30. At the end of the fourth quarter, all movie theater loan balances were still in their active deferment period.
