Despite Q4 earnings decline, Independent Bank carries momentum in 2022 with commercial lending 

Despite Q4 earnings decline, Independent Bank carries momentum in 2022 with commercial lending 
Brad Kessel

 

GRAND RAPIDS — Independent Bank Corp.’s earnings declined in the final three months of 2021 but grew overall for the year.

The Grand Rapids-based Independent Bank (Nasdaq: IBCP) reported $12.5 million in net income for the fourth quarter, or 58 cents per diluted share. The results compare with $16.9 million, or 77 cents per diluted share, in the same period in 2020.

Full-year 2021 net income totaled $62.8 million, or $2.88 per diluted share, which compares to $56.1 million, or $2.53 per diluted share, in 2020.

Going into 2022, the bank’s commercial loan pipeline was “at its highest level in many quarters” and “deposit-gathering continues to be robust both via existing customers as well as through the addition of new customers,” President and CEO Brad Kessel said.

“We are excited about the momentum we have in our markets and look forward to continuing these trends into 2022,” Kessel said.

Independent Bank’s commercial balances grew by $45 million for the quarter, said Joel Rahn, executive vice president for commercial lending. Excluding federal Paycheck Protection Program loans, the bank’s commercial loan portfolio grew by 9.4 percent in 2021 to end the year at $1.2 billion.

“Our commercial pipeline is very strong, and we expect solid commercial loan growth in the first quarter of 2022,” Rahn said.

Independent Bank has 62 offices across the Lower Peninsula with $4.7 billion in total assets at the end of 2021.

In the third quarter of 2021, the bank opened new loan production offices in Ottawa and Macomb counties that “are off to a strong start,” Kessel said. The bank plans to open a full-service office in Ottawa County in the first half of 2022.