Executive Summary

Q4 2024 net income was $10.9M ($0.83 basic, $0.80 diluted), down 9.7% YoY on lower non-interest income and higher funding costs; FY24 net income rose to $47.8M ($3.58 diluted) .
Net interest income held essentially flat YoY at $25.3M, but net interest margin compressed to 5.29% (from 6.06% LY) as deposit costs rose and asset yields drifted lower after Fed cuts began in September 2024 .
Balance sheet expanded: loans +14.3% YoY to $1.81B; deposits +19.3% YoY to $1.67B; borrowings were repaid to $0, supporting strong liquidity and capital (CET1 13.65%) .
Non-interest income fell to $0.15M (vs $1.39M LY) on a $0.55M unrealized loss in equity securities and loss of wealth-management fees after the 2024 disposition, partially offset by modest BOLI gains .
Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) was unavailable during this session; we cannot quantify beats/misses. Estimates context provided below (consensus unavailable).

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Solid earnings resilience driven by core lending; CEO: “another quarter of strong earnings due to the strong performance of our loan portfolio… construction lending in high demand-high absorption areas continues to be our focus.” .
- Robust balance-sheet growth and funding: loans +$227.0M YoY; deposits +$270.3M YoY (mix shift to CDs and NOW/MM) while paying down $64M of borrowings .
- Strong capital and liquidity with CET1 13.65%, total capital 13.92%, and borrowing capacity of ~$861M across Federal Reserve, FHLB, and ACBB lines .
What Went Wrong
- Margin pressure: NIM down to 5.29% from 6.06% YoY as deposit costs rose (interest-bearing deposit cost to 4.34%) and asset yields eased post-September rate cuts .
- Non-interest income volatility: unrealized loss on equity securities of $0.55M vs $0.62M gain LY and no investment advisory fees post the Harbor West disposition hurt fee revenue .
- Efficiency ratio worsened to 38.99% (from 34.72% LY) as operating costs rose (notably salaries/benefits and REO expense), and revenue mix shifted .

Financial Results

Metric	Q4 2023	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Total Interest Income ($M)	$37.13	$41.18	$40.47
Interest Expense ($M)	$11.92	$14.90	$15.17
Net Interest Income ($M)	$25.21	$26.29	$25.30
Non-Interest Income ($M)	$1.39	$1.35	$0.15
Pre-Tax Income ($M)	$17.15	$17.57	$15.50
Net Income ($M)	$12.10	$12.69	$10.93
Diluted EPS ($)	$0.82	$0.95	$0.80
Net Interest Margin (%)	6.06%	5.68%	5.29%
Efficiency Ratio (%)	34.72%	36.04%	38.99%
ROA (%)	2.77%	2.62%	2.19%
ROE (%)	17.49%	16.48%	13.80%

Note: “Revenue” is not presented; for banks, a proxy is total revenue = Net Interest Income + Non-Interest Income. Q4 2024 total revenue proxy ≈ $25.45M (= $25.30M + $0.15M) using cited line items .

Balance sheet and asset quality KPIs

KPI	Q4 2023	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Total Assets ($M)	$1,764.1	$1,968.0	$2,010.3
Net Loans ($M)	$1,581.8	$1,755.4	$1,808.8
Deposits ($M)	$1,400.0	$1,628.1	$1,670.4
Borrowings ($M)	$64.0	$7.0	$0.0
Stockholders’ Equity ($M)	$279.3	$309.6	$319.1
NPA / Assets (%)	0.33%	0.27%	0.25%
ACL / Loans (%)	0.32%	0.27%	0.27%
CET1 (%)	13.10%	13.76%	13.65%

Drivers and details

Q4 NII +0.4% YoY on larger earning-asset balances, offset by a 47 bp decline in asset yields and 20 bp higher liability costs; NIM compression reflects deposit repricing and post-cut asset yield drift .
Non-interest income fell $1.24M YoY on a $0.55M unrealized equity loss and elimination of advisory fees following the Harbor West disposition .
Non-interest expense +7.5% YoY on higher salaries/benefits and REO costs; tax rate ~29.5% .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Formal financial guidance	FY25/Q1 2025	Not provided	Not provided	Maintained (no guidance)
Quarterly cash dividend ($/sh)	Payable Feb 5, 2025	Not specified here	$0.15	Declared

Note: Company did not issue quantitative forward guidance in Q4 materials. Dividend declaration is included as a shareholder return action .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

No Q4 2024 earnings call transcript was found in our document system for NECB; the company’s press releases provide qualitative context but no Q&A transcript was available during this review window (we searched for “earnings-call-transcript” and found none).

Themes from press releases across quarters

Topic	Q2 2024 (press release)	Q3 2024 (press release)	Q4 2024 (press release)	Trend
Interest-rate/margin dynamics	NIM 5.79%; rising deposit costs; asset yields benefited from prior hikes	NIM 5.68%; cost of funds up; asset yields steady to slightly down	NIM 5.29%; liability costs up, asset yields down post Sept cuts	Gradual NIM compression through 2H24
Loan growth and construction focus	Originations $364.7M (H1), construction-led	Originations $569.2M (9M), construction-led	Loans +14.3% YoY to $1.81B, construction +$206.8M YoY	Sustained construction-led growth
Deposits and funding mix	Deposits +$163.8M YTD; shift to CDs/NOW-MM	Deposits +$228.0M YTD; continued mix shift	Deposits +$270.3M YoY; CDs/NOW-MM up; borrowings repaid	Growth with higher-cost mix
Asset quality	NPA 0.30%; two nonperforming construction loans (Bronx)	NPA 0.27%; foreclosure planned	NPA 0.25%; Bronx loans foreclosed, moved to OREO	Low NPA; resolution progress
Fee income/other	Non-interest income lower on BOLI normalization, advisory fee exit	Non-interest income boosted by equity gains in Q3	Non-interest income weak on equity losses and no advisory fees	Volatile, structurally lower ex-wealth fees
Capital/returns	CET1 13.37%; buyback program ongoing	CET1 13.76%; buyback ongoing	CET1 13.65%; buyback ongoing; dividend declared	Stable capital; consistent returns

Management Commentary

Strategy and demand: “We are pleased to report another quarter of strong earnings due to the strong performance of our loan portfolio… loan demand remained strong with originations and outstanding commitments remaining robust. As has been in the past, construction lending in high demand-high absorption areas continues to be our focus.” — Kenneth A. Martinek, Chairman & CEO .
Balance-sheet actions: Paid off $50M Federal Reserve borrowings and $14M FHLB advances during 2024 while growing deposits and loans .
Liquidity and capital: Borrowing capacity of ~$834.7M at the Fed, $18.2M at FHLB-NY, and $8.0M at ACBB; total capital to RWA 13.92%, CET1 13.65%, Tier 1 leverage 14.44% .

Q&A Highlights

No Q4 2024 earnings call transcript was available; accordingly, there are no Q&A highlights or guidance clarifications to report for this quarter (we searched but found no transcript documents).

Estimates Context

Wall Street consensus estimates (S&P Global) for Q4 2024 EPS and revenue were unavailable during this session due to an SPGI request limit; therefore, we cannot quantify an earnings beat/miss or revenue variance. We note that smaller-cap community banks often have sparse formal coverage.
As a result, no estimate-derived variance table is presented for Q4 2024 (consensus unavailable).

Key Takeaways for Investors

Core profitability remained resilient, but margin compression is a headwind: Q4 NIM fell to 5.29% as deposit costs climbed and asset yields eased post-rate cuts; watch for further liability repricing vs. asset yield trajectory in 1H25 .
Growth remains construction-led with disciplined credit metrics: loans +14.3% YoY and NPA/Assets at 0.25% after transferring two Bronx construction loans to OREO; reserve coverage stable at 0.27% of loans .
Funding progress with no wholesale borrowings outstanding at year-end, but at the expense of mix (CD and NOW/MM growth); deposit beta sensitivity persists .
Non-interest income remains a swing factor given equity securities marks and the absence of wealth-management fees; base-case earnings depend more on spread income and operating discipline .
Capital and liquidity provide flexibility (CET1 13.65%, strong borrowing capacity) to support growth and shareholder returns (dividend declared for early Feb 2025) .
Without consensus estimates, stock reaction likely hinges on the narrative: durable loan growth/credit quality vs. ongoing NIM pressure and fee-income variability; monitor deposit pricing, NIM stabilization, and OREO resolution as near-term catalysts .

NorthEast Community Bancorp, Inc./MD/ (NECB)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary