Wauwatosa, Wis. – 07/31/2018 – Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: WSBF), holding company for WaterStone Bank, reported net income of $9.4 million, or $0.34 per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 compared to $8.9 million, or $0.32 per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. Net income per diluted share was $0.59 for the six months ended June 30, 2018 compared to net income per diluted share of $0.55 for the six months ended June 30, 2017.  

“We are pleased to report a record second quarter net income of $9.4 million and earnings per share of $0.34,” said Douglas Gordon, CEO of Waterstone Financial, Inc. “The Community Banking segment continued its momentum by achieving a year over year 24.2% increase in pre-tax earnings.  Our success stemmed from continued strong loan growth, margin expansion and expense management.  The Mortgage Banking segment continued to be negatively impacted by margin compression during the second quarter of 2018, as market competition remains strong within the industry due to lower refinancing activity and diminished levels of housing inventory.  While the current mortgage banking environment presents challenges, we believe that it will also present opportunities to acquire talent, such as the addition of our New Mexico branch during the second quarter.”     

Highlights of the Quarter Ended June 30, 2018

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (Consolidated)

• Consolidated net income of Waterstone Financial, Inc. totaled $9.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $8.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.
• Consolidated return on average assets totaled 2.02% for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 compared to 1.99% for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.
• Consolidated return on average equity increased 70 bps to 9.40% for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 compared to 8.70% for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.
• The effective income tax rate amounted to 24.8% for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 compared to 34.3% for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 primarily as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reducing the federal rate from 35% to 21%.
• Dividends declared totaled $0.12 per share during the quarter ended June 30, 2018 amounting to a total of $0.74 in dividends declared per share during the six months ended June 30, 2018.

Community Banking Segment

• Pre-tax income of the segment totaled $8.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, which represents a 24.2% increase compared to $6.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.
• Net interest income of the segment totaled $13.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, which represents a 10.6% increase compared to $12.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. Our net interest margin increased 14 bps to 3.14% for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 compared to 3.00% for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, which was driven by loan growth along with a decrease in borrowing costs.
• Continued improvement in the overall risk profile of our loan portfolio resulted in a negative provision for loan losses of $250,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 compared to no provision for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. The negative provision reflects recoveries received along with continued sustained improvements in loan quality metrics including: non–accrual loans, loans classified as substandard or watch and loans past due.
• Average loans held for investment totaled $1.33 billion during the quarter ended June 30, 2018, which represents an increase of $124.0 million, or 10.3% over the comparable quarter in the prior year. 
• Average deposits totaled $991.4 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2018, which represents an increase of $46.4 million, or 5.1%, over the comparable quarter in the prior year. 
• Driven by net interest margin expansion and continued cost control efforts, the efficiency ratio for the community banking segment improved to 44.3% for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to 48.8% for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.
• Nonperforming assets as percentage of total assets decreased to 0.47% as of June 30, 2018, compared to 0.54% at March 31, 2018 and 0.71% at June 30, 2017.

Mortgage Banking Segment

• Pre-tax income of the segment totaled $4.0 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, which represents a 40.2% decrease compared to $6.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.
• Loan originations decreased $45.6 million, or 5.9%, to $721.2 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to $766.8 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2017.  Origination volume relative to purchase activity accounted for 92.6% of originations for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 compared to 91.7% of total originations for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.
• Gross margins on loans sold decreased approximately 10% during the quarter ended June 30, 2018, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2017. 

About Waterstone Financial, Inc.
Waterstone Financial, Inc. is the savings and loan holding company for WaterStone Bank. WaterStone Bank was established in 1921 and offers a full suite of personal and business banking products. The Bank has branches in Wauwatosa, Brookfield, Fox Point/North Shore, Franklin/Hales Corners, Germantown/Menomonee Falls, Greenfield, Oak Creek, Oconomowoc/Lake Country, Pewaukee, Waukesha/Brookfield, and West Allis, Wisconsin and a commercial lending office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. WaterStone Bank is the parent company to Waterstone Mortgage, which has the ability to lend in 47 states. For more information about WaterStone Bank, go to https://www.wsbonline.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding expected financial and operating activities and results that are preceded by, followed by, or that include words such as “may,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates” or “believes.”  Such statements are subject to important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements.  These factors include (i) exposure to the deterioration in the commercial and residential real estate markets which could result in increased charge-offs and increases in the allowance for loan losses,  (ii) various other factors, including changes in economic conditions affecting borrowers, new information regarding outstanding loans and identification of additional problem loans, which could require an increase in the allowance for loan losses, (iii) Waterstone’s ability to maintain required levels of capital and other current and future regulatory requirements, (iv) the impact of recent and future legislative initiatives on the financial markets, and (v) those factors referenced in Item 1A. Risk Factors in Waterstone’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and as may be described from time to time in Waterstone’s subsequent SEC filings, which factors are incorporated herein by reference.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect only Waterstone’s belief as of the date of this press release.

# # #