• Second quarter earnings of $5,917,000, or $0.30 per share, increased 34% from the 2011 second quarter
• Managed assets hit an all time high at $1.16 billion, including $667 million at Medallion Bank
• Quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share declared

Company Website: http://www.medallion.com
NEW YORK -- (Business Wire)

Medallion Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: TAXI), a specialty finance company with a leading position servicing the taxicab industry and other niche markets, announced that earnings, or net increase in net assets resulting from operations was $5,917,000 or $0.30 per diluted common share in the 2012 second quarter, up $1,501,000 or 34% from $4,416,000 or $0.25 per diluted common share in the 2011 second quarter, primarily reflecting higher net realized/unrealized gains, as well as lower operating expenses and higher net interest and noninterest income.

Medallion Bank, the Company’s unconsolidated wholly-owned portfolio company, had net income of $4,828,000 in the 2012 second quarter, compared to $4,132,000 in the 2011 second quarter, an increase of $696,000 or 17%, primarily reflecting higher net interest income and reduced loan losses, partially offset by higher income taxes and operating expenses, and also by lower noninterest income. As the Company continues to use Medallion Bank as a primary funding source, it refers more loans to Medallion Bank for origination to take advantage of current short term borrowing rates which are at historically low levels, and which are our least expensive source of funds.

Medallion Financial’s net interest margin was 4.77% for the 2012 second quarter, compared to 4.33% in the 2011 second quarter. On a combined basis with Medallion Bank, the net interest margin was 6.32%, compared to 6.40% a year ago, reflecting the continued low cost of funds at the Bank, and the Bank’s higher-yielding loan portfolio. Net investment income after income taxes was $1,793,000 or $0.09 per diluted common share in the 2012 quarter, up $314,000 or 21% from $1,479,000 or $0.08 per share in the 2011 quarter.

Andrew Murstein, President of Medallion Financial stated, “We are extremely pleased with the quarter’s results, especially since we raised almost $35,000,000 in a follow on offering led by Morgan Stanley, Stifel Nicholas, and Sandler O’Neill. Even with our higher share count we still were able to increase our per share earnings immediately due in part to continued strong loan demand and near record low delinquencies and losses. Our stock is also trading above the offering price and we feel confident in our future.

“This quarter’s dividend also remains at the highest level it has been in over 10 years,” said Mr. Murstein. “The taxi industry remains resilient in this type of economic environment for several reasons, including corporate and consumer cutbacks on more expensive limousine and town car services, high taxi fleet utilization, and continuing high taxi ridership levels. In addition, the loan to value ratio on our entire medallion portfolio is under 40%.”

Larry D. Hall, Chief Financial Officer of Medallion Financial stated, “Medallion’s capital and liquidity levels remained strong, with over $105,000,000 of deposit-raising capacity at Medallion Bank, in addition to over $136,000,000 of availability in our other funding sources. Additionally, Medallion was able to sell 3,500,000 shares of common stock during the quarter, raising almost $35,000,000 to further leverage the growth opportunities that we see with Medallion Bank and potentially with the proposed New York City taxi auctions.”

Mr. Hall continued, “In addition, during 2012 we have continued to replace higher cost borrowings with lower cost fixed and floating rate debt, further enhancing our profitability, and we see additional opportunities to continue this as rates remain near historic lows. For example, our $33,000,000 of Trust Preferred securities, which currently carry a fixed rate of 7.68%, will re-price to 90 day Libor plus 2.125% in September, or 2.59% at today’s rates, which should be accretive to subsequent earnings.”

Medallion Financial’s on-balance sheet taxicab medallion loan portfolio was $278,000,000 at quarter end, down from $312,000,000 a year ago, primarily due to the funding of most new medallion loan originations at Medallion Bank, and the Company’s loan participations to third party banks. Total managed medallion loans increased $6,000,000 or 1% to $673,000,000 at quarter end, up from $667,000,000 a year ago.

Medallion Financial’s on-balance sheet commercial loan portfolio was $54,000,000 at quarter end, down from $66,000,000 a year ago. The managed commercial loan portfolio was $115,000,000 at quarter end, down from $126,000,000 last year. In both cases, the declines primarily reflected portfolio repayments. Medallion Bank’s consumer loan portfolio increased 16% to $227,000,000 at quarter end from $195,000,000 a year ago. Overall, total managed assets increased 3% to $1,159,971,000 at quarter end, up from $1,125,924,000 a year ago. Asset quality remained very strong, with managed loans 90 days or more past due of only 1.1% at quarter end, down from 1.8% at year end and 1.2% a year ago.

The Company also announced a dividend of $0.21 per share for the 2012 second quarter, up from $0.18 per share in the 2011 second quarter. This brings the total dividends paid over the last four quarters to $0.81, and equates to a yield of over 7% based on the closing price of the Company’s stock on July 31, 2012. The current dividend will be paid on August 24, 2012, to shareholders of record on August 16, 2012. Since the Company’s initial public offering in 1996, the Company has paid in excess of $176,220,000 or $11.02 per share in dividends.

Medallion Financial Corp. is a specialty finance company with a leading position in the origination and servicing of loans financing the purchase of taxicab medallions and related assets.The Company also originates and services loans in other commercial industries, and its wholly-owned portfolio company, Medallion Bank, also originates and services consumer loans.The Company and its subsidiaries have lent approximately $5 billion to the taxicab industry and other small businesses.

Please note that this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties relating to business performance, cash flow, costs, sales, net investment income, earnings, and growth.Medallion’s actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in such forward-looking statements.Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors,” in Medallion’s 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Contacts:

At the Company:
Medallion Financial Corp.
Andrew M. Murstein, President
Larry D. Hall, CFO
1-212-328-2100
1-877-MEDALLION
or
At Zlokower Company
Public Relations
Harry Zlokower/Dave Closs
1-212-447-9292

Source: Medallion Financial Corp.