LOS ANGELES, April 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Los Angeles, CA, April 20, 2026 – RBB Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBB) and its subsidiaries, Royal Business Bank (the “Bank”) and RBB Asset Management Company (“RAM”), collectively referred to herein as the “Company,” announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.

First Quarter 2026 Highlights

• Net income totaled $11.3 million, or $0.66 diluted earnings per share 
• Pre-tax pre-provision income ⁽¹⁾ totaled $15.5 million, a 16% increase compared to the prior quarter
• Return on average assets of 1.09%, compared to 0.96% for the prior quarter
• Net interest margin increased to 3.15%, from 2.99% for the prior quarter
• Nonperforming assets decreased 9%, to $48.8 million at March 31, 2026, compared to prior quarter end
• Book value and tangible book value per share⁽¹⁾ increased to $31.10 and $26.84 at March 31, 2026, up from $30.69 and $26.42 at December 31, 2025
  
  

The Company reported net income of $11.3 million, or $0.66 diluted earnings per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared to net income of $10.2 million, or $0.59 diluted earnings per share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2025. 

“First quarter results represented a strong start to 2026, with higher net interest income, expanding margin and lower credit costs driving net income of $11.3 million, or $0.66 per diluted share,” said Johnny Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer of RBB Bancorp. “Net interest margin increased to 3.15% as declining deposit costs and improved earning asset yields more than offset modest pressure on loan balances. We also continued to make progress on credit quality, with nonperforming assets declining 9% from the prior quarter. Retail deposit growth remained strong, and we believe our continued focus on disciplined loan growth, deposit gathering and resolving problem assets positions us to continue to enhance shareholder value through 2026.”

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin 

Net interest income was $30.5 million for the first quarter of 2026, compared to $29.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. Net interest income increased $1.0 million despite 2 fewer days in the current quarter and was comprised of a $1.4 million decrease in interest expense, offset by a $390,000 decrease in interest income. The decrease in interest expense was due mostly to the impact of fewer days in the quarter and a decrease in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities while the average balances remained relatively unchanged quarter over quarter. The decrease in interest expense was comprised of a $3.4 million decrease in interest on time deposits, offset by a $2.0 million increase in interest on non-maturity interest-bearing accounts as a portion of the Bank’s maturing time deposits moved to a high-yield savings product. The decrease in interest income was due mostly to fewer days in the quarter and the impact of a lower yield on cash and securities, offset by the impact of a higher loan yield and a special Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) dividend in addition to their normal quarterly dividend. The decrease in interest income was comprised of a $509,000 decrease in loan interest income and a $315,000 decrease in interest on cash and investment securities, offset by the FHLB special dividend of $430,000.

The net interest margin (“NIM”) increased 16 basis points to 3.15% for the first quarter of 2026 from 2.99% for the fourth quarter of 2025. The NIM increase included an 8 basis point increase in the yield on average total interest-earning assets and an 8 basis point decrease in the overall cost of funds. The yield on average total interest-earning assets increased to 5.86% for the first quarter of 2026 from 5.78% for the fourth quarter of 2025 due mostly to the impact of a 7 basis point increase in the yield on average loans and a 4 basis point increase from the FHLB special dividend. 

The average total cost of funds decreased to 2.96% for the first quarter of 2026 from 3.04% for the fourth quarter of 2025, due mostly to a 10 basis point decrease in the overall cost of deposits to 2.86% for the first quarter of 2026. The total cost of deposits decreased due to a 12 basis point decrease in the cost of average interest-bearing deposits to 3.39%. Average noninterest-bearing deposits represented approximately 16% of average total deposits for the first quarter of 2026 and fourth quarter of 2025. The period end weighted average interest rate for total deposits was 2.79% at March 31, 2026.

Provision for Credit Losses

The provision for credit losses was a $200,000 reversal for the first quarter of 2026 compared to a $600,000 provision for the fourth quarter of 2025. The first quarter of 2026 reversal of provision for credit losses was supported by paydowns on loans with specific reserves, the impact of stabilized credit quality trends and positive underlying economic forecast indicators, which offset the need for provisions related to new loan originations. Net charge-offs in the first quarter of 2026 represented 0.00% of average loans on an annualized basis, compared to 0.20% for the fourth quarter of 2025.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the first quarter of 2026 was $4.3 million, an increase of $1.4 million from $2.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. The increase in noninterest income was mainly due to higher net gain on OREO of $890,000, recoveries of fully charged-off acquired loans of $484,000, and interest income on the tax refunds related to purchased federal tax credits of $360,000, offset partially by lower gain on sale of loans of $133,000. The sale of $4.9 million of mortgage loans and $4.0 million of Small Business Administration (“SBA”) loans resulted in gains of $324,000 for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the sale of mortgage loans of $22.0 million and SBA loans of $2.9 million for gains of $457,000 for the fourth quarter of 2025.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2026 was $19.3 million, an increase of $293,000 from $19.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. The increase in noninterest expense was due mainly to higher salaries and employee benefits of $528,000 attributed to higher payroll taxes, benefits and pay increases, which are typically reflected in the first quarter of the year. The efficiency ratio was 55.41% for the first quarter of 2026, compared to 58.69% for the fourth quarter of 2025. The decrease in the efficiency ratio is attributed mostly to higher net revenues.

Income Taxes

The effective tax rate was 28.0% for the first quarter of 2026 and 20.2% for the fourth quarter of 2025. The effective tax rate for 2026 is estimated to be 28.0% compared to 24.2% for 2025. The lower effective tax rate in 2025 compared to the estimated effective tax rate for 2026 is expected to result from a reduction in the multi-state blended tax rate year over year and benefits from purchased Federal tax credits recognized in 2025.

Balance Sheet

At March 31, 2026, total assets were $4.2 billion, a $14.0 million decrease compared to total assets of $4.2 billion at December 31, 2025, and a $184.9 million, or 4.6%, increase compared to total assets of $4.0 billion at March 31, 2025.

Loan and Securities Portfolio

Loans held for investment ("HFI") totaled $3.3 billion as of March 31, 2026, an increase of $10.9 million, or 1.3% annualized, compared to December 31, 2025 and an increase of $182.2 million, or 5.8%, compared to March 31, 2025. Net loan growth for the first quarter of 2026 included $131.1 million in originations with an average yield of 6.4% and $53.8 million in advances, offset mostly by payoffs/paydowns of $166.9 million and loans sold of $4.0 million. The loan to deposit ratio was 99.6% at March 31, 2026, compared to 99.0% at December 31, 2025 and 100.0% at March 31, 2025. 

As of March 31, 2026, available for sale securities ("AFS") totaled $415.8 million, an increase of $8.6 million from December 31, 2025, primarily related to purchases of $54.9 million, offset by maturities and paydowns of $45.1 million during the first quarter of 2026. As of March 31, 2026, net unrealized pre-tax losses totaled $20.4 million, a $1.5 million increase due to changes in market interest rates when compared to net unrealized pre-tax losses of $18.9 million as of December 31, 2025.

Deposits

Total deposits were $3.3 billion as of March 31, 2026, a decrease of $10.5 million, or 1.3% annualized, compared to December 31, 2025 and an increase of $197.3 million, or 6.3%, compared to March 31, 2025. The decrease in total deposits during the first quarter of 2026 was due to a $61.9 million decrease in wholesale deposits, offset by a $51.4 million increase in retail deposits. The increase in retail deposits included a $219.4 million increase in non-maturity interest-bearing deposits and a $168.4 million decrease in time deposits as a portion of the Bank’s maturing time deposit accounts shifted into a high-yield savings product. Noninterest-bearing deposits totaled $526.9 million, or 15.8% of total deposits, at March 31, 2026, which is similar to the balances at December 31, 2025, and March 31, 2025.

Credit Quality

Nonperforming assets totaled $48.8 million, or 1.16% of total assets, at March 31, 2026, down from $53.5 million, or 1.27% of total assets, at December 31, 2025, and down from $64.6 million, or 1.61% of total assets, at March 31, 2025. The decrease in nonperforming assets included a decrease of $4.5 million in OREO (included in “accrued interest and other assets”) to $4.3 million at March 31, 2026, compared to $8.8 million at December 31, 2025, and $4.2 million at March 31, 2025. The decrease in OREO was primarily due to the sale of one property. The sale resulted in a $1.2 million gain, which was partially offset by a $350,000 valuation provision on a remaining OREO property. 

Nonperforming loans (“NPLs”) remained stable at $44.6 million, or 1.34% of total loans, at March 31, 2026, down $64,000 from $44.6 million, or 1.35% of total loans, at December 31, 2025 and down $15.8 million, or 26%, from $60.4 million, or 1.92% of total loans, at March 31, 2025. The decrease in NPLs during the first quarter of 2026 was due to $860,000 in payoffs and paydowns and $622,000 in upgrades to accrual status, partially offset by additions of $1.4 million. 

Substandard loans totaled $72.5 million, or 2.18% of total loans, at March 31, 2026, down from $75.2 million, or 2.27% of total loans, at December 31, 2025 and $76.4 million, or 2.43% of total loans, at March 31, 2025. The $2.7 million decrease in substandard loans during the first quarter of 2026 was primarily due to payoffs and paydowns totaling $3.0 million and upgrades to pass-rated loans of $1.1 million, partially offset by downgrades to substandard totaling $1.5 million. Of the total substandard loans outstanding at March 31, 2026, there were $27.9 million, or 39% of such loans, on accrual status.

Special mention loans totaled $24.8 million, or 0.75% of total loans, at March 31, 2026, up from $19.2 million, or 0.58% of total loans, at December 31, 2025, and down from $64.3 million, or 2.05% of total loans, at March 31, 2025. The $5.5 million increase for the first quarter of 2026 was primarily due to downgrades to special mention of $5.8 million, partially offset by paydowns of $303,000. As of March 31, 2026, all special mention loans were paying current.

30-89 day delinquent loans, excluding nonperforming loans, totaled $7.9 million, or 0.24% of total loans, at March 31, 2026, down from $8.8 million, or 0.27% of total loans, at December 31, 2025, and up from $5.9 million, or 0.19% of total loans at March 31, 2025. The $878,000 decrease for the first quarter of 2026 was mainly due to$3.4 million in loans returning to current status and $1.3 million in payoffs and paydowns, offset by $3.7 million in new delinquent loans. 

As of March 31, 2026, the allowance for credit losses totaled $44.2 million and was comprised of an allowance for loan losses of $43.7 million and a reserve for unfunded commitments of $484,000 (included in “accrued interest and other liabilities”). This compares to the allowance for credit losses of $44.4 million, comprised of an allowance for loan losses of $43.9 million and a reserve for unfunded commitments of $484,000 at December 31, 2025. The $222,000 decrease in the allowance for credit losses for the first quarter of 2026 was due to a $200,000 reversal of provision for credit losses and net charge-offs of $22,000. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans HFI totaled 1.31% at March 31, 2026, compared to 1.32% at December 31, 2025. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of nonperforming loans HFI was 97.98% at March 31, 2026, down from 98.33% at December 31, 2025. 

Shareholders' Equity

At March 31, 2026, total shareholders' equity was $531.1 million, a $7.6 million increase compared to December 31, 2025, and a $20.7 million increase compared to March 31, 2025. The increase in shareholders' equity for the first quarter of 2026 was due mostly to net income of $11.3 million, offset by common stock cash dividends paid of $2.8 million and higher net unrealized losses on AFS securities of $961,000. 

Dividend Announcement

The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per common share. The dividend is payable on May 15, 2026 to shareholders of record on April 30, 2026.

Contact:
Lynn Hopkins, Chief Financial Officer
(213) 716-8066
lhopkins@rbbusa.com

Corporate Overview

RBB Bancorp is a community-based financial holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. As of March 31, 2026, the Company had total assets of $4.2 billion. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Royal Business Bank, is a full service commercial bank, which provides consumer and business banking services predominately to the Asian-centric communities in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and Ventura County in California, in Las Vegas, Nevada, in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan in New York, in Edison, New Jersey, in the Chicago neighborhoods of Chinatown and Bridgeport, Illinois, and on Oahu, Hawaii. Bank services include remote deposit, E-banking, mobile banking, commercial and investor real estate loans, business loans and lines of credit, commercial and industrial loans, SBA 7A and 504 loans, 1-4 single family residential loans, trade finance, a full range of depository account products and wealth management services. The Bank has nine branches in Los Angeles County, two branches in Ventura County, one branch in Orange County, California, one branch in Las Vegas, Nevada, three branches and one loan operation center in Brooklyn, three branches in Queens, one branch in Manhattan in New York, one branch in Edison, New Jersey, two branches in Chicago, Illinois, and one branch in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Company's administrative and lending center is located at 1055 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90017, and its operations center is located at 7025 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park, California 90621. The Company's website address is www.royalbusinessbankusa.com.

Conference Call

Management will hold a conference call at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time/2:00 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, to discuss the Company’s first quarter 2026 financial results.

To listen to the conference call, please dial 1-888-506-0062 or 1-973-528-0011, the Participant ID code is 715551, conference ID RBBQ126. A replay of the call will be made available at 1-877-481-4010 or 1-919-882-2331, the passcode is 53853, approximately one hour after the conclusion of the call and will remain available through May 5, 2026.

The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast over the Internet; please visit our Royal Business Bank website at www.royalbusinessbankusa.com and click on the “Investors” tab to access the call from the site. This webcast will be recorded and available for replay on our website approximately two hours after the conclusion of the conference call.

Disclosure

This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial disclosures, which the Company uses to provide meaningful supplemental information regarding the Company’s operational performance and to enhance investors’ overall understanding of such financial performance. Please refer to the tables at the end of this press release for a presentation of performance ratios in accordance with GAAP and a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the GAAP financial measures.

Safe Harbor

Certain matters set forth herein (including the exhibits hereto) constitute forward-looking statements relating to the Company’s current business plans and expectations and our future financial position and operating results. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and/or achievements to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, business and economic conditions generally and in the financial services industry, nationally and within our current and future geographic markets, including the tight labor market, ineffective management of the United States (“U.S.”) federal budget or debt or turbulence or uncertainly in domestic or foreign financial markets; the strength of the U.S. economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations; adverse developments in the banking industry highlighted by high-profile bank failures and the potential impact of such developments on customer confidence, liquidity and regulatory responses to these developments; federal government shutdowns and uncertainty regarding the federal government’s debt limit; possible additional provisions for credit losses and charge-offs; credit risks of lending activities and deterioration in asset or credit quality; extensive laws and regulations and supervision that we are subject to, including potential supervisory action by bank supervisory authorities; compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and other money laundering statutes and regulations; potential goodwill impairment; liquidity risk; failure to comply with debt covenants; risks associated with acquisitions and the expansion of our business into new markets; inflation and deflation; real estate market conditions and the value of real estate collateral; the effects of having concentrations in our loan portfolio, including commercial real estate and the risks of geographic and industry concentrations; environmental liabilities; our ability to compete with larger competitors; our ability to retain key personnel; successful management of reputational risk; severe weather, natural disasters, earthquakes, fires, or other adverse external events could harm our business; geopolitical conditions, including acts or threats of terrorism, actions taken by the U.S. or other governments in response to acts or threats of terrorism and/or military conflicts, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, and increasing tensions between China and Taiwan, which could impact business and economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad; tariffs, trade policies, and related tensions, which could impact our clients, specific industry sectors, and/or broader economic conditions and financial market; public health crises and pandemics, and their effects on the economic and business environments in which we operate, including our credit quality and business operations, as well as the impact on general economic and financial market conditions; general economic or business conditions in Asia, and other regions where the Bank has operations; failures, interruptions, or security breaches of our information systems; climate change, including any enhanced regulatory, compliance, credit and reputational risks and costs; cybersecurity threats and the cost of defending against them; our ability to adapt our systems to the expanding use of technology in banking; risk management processes and strategies; the impact of regulatory enforcement actions, if any; certain provisions in our charter and bylaws that may affect acquisition of the Company; changes in tax laws and regulations; the impact of governmental efforts to restructure the U.S. financial regulatory system and increased costs of compliance and other risks associated with changes in regulation, including any amendments to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; the impact of changes in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") insurance assessment rate and the rules and regulations related to the calculation of the FDIC insurance assessments; the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices or accounting standards, as may be adopted from time-to-time by bank regulatory agencies, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) or other accounting standards setters; fluctuations in the Company’s stock price; restrictions on dividends and other distributions by laws and regulations and by our regulators and our capital structure; our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, and the potential resulting dilution of interests of holders of our common stock; the soundness of other financial institutions; our ongoing relations with our various federal and state regulators, including the SEC, FDIC, Federal Reserve Bank, California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing items and all other factors set forth in the Company’s public reports, including its Annual Report as filed under Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and particularly the discussion of risk factors within that document. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements except as required by law. Any statements about future operating results, such as those concerning accretion and dilution to the Company’s earnings or shareholders, are for illustrative purposes only, are not forecasts, and actual results may differ.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

Tangible Book Value Reconciliations

Tangible book value per share is a non-GAAP disclosure. Management measures tangible book value per share to assess the Company’s capital strength and business performance and believes this is helpful to investors as additional tools for further understanding our performance. The following is a reconciliation of tangible book value to the Company shareholders’ equity computed in accordance with GAAP, as well as a calculation of tangible book value per share as of the dates indicated.

Return on Average Tangible Common Equity

Management measures return on average tangible common equity (“ROATCE”) to assess the Company’s capital strength and business performance and believes this is helpful to investors as an additional tool for further understanding our performance. Tangible equity excludes goodwill and other intangible assets (excluding mortgage servicing rights) and is reviewed by banking and financial institution regulators when assessing a financial institution’s capital adequacy. This non-GAAP financial measure should not be considered a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. The following table reconciles ROATCE to its most comparable GAAP measure:

Pre-Tax Pre-Provision Income

Management believes that pre-tax pre-provision (“PTPP”) income is a useful measure for investors to evaluate core operating performance, excluding the volatility of credit provision expenses. PTPP income is calculated by subtracting noninterest expense from the sum of net interest income and noninterest income, as shown in the following table.