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amalgamated FINANCIAL CORP . Amalgamated Financial Corp. Reports Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results October 28 , 2021 NEW YORK , Oct. 28 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Amalgamated Financial Corp. ( the " Company " or " Amalgamated " ) ( Nasdaq : AMAL ) , the holding company for Amalgamated Bank ( the " Bank " ) , today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30 , 20211 . Third Quarter 2021 Highlights • Net income of $ 14.4 million , or $ 0.46 per diluted share , compared to $ 10.4 million , or $ 0.33 per diluted share , for the second quarter of 2021 and $ 12.5 million , or $ 0.40 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2020 . . Deposits increased $ 314.5 million to $ 6.2 billion on a linked quarter basis . • Political deposits remained strong and stable at $ 1.0 billion as of September 30 , 2021 , with $ 223.5 million growth on a linked quarter basis . • Cost of deposits was 0.09 % , down five basis points from the third quarter of 2020 . • PACE assessments grew $ 81.4 million to $ 627.2 million on a linked quarter basis , and grew $ 259.8 million on a year over year basis . Current quarter growth included $ 69.0 million of Commercial PACE assessments . • Net loans including PACE assessments grew by $ 31.4 million , or 0.85 % , on a linked quarter basis . Excluding the impact of our residential 1-4 first mortgage portfolio runoff , the growth was $ 83.7 million , or 3.20 % . • Net interest margin was 2.70 % , compared to 2.75 % for the second quarter of 2021 and 2.88 % for the third quarter of 2020 . • Regulatory capital remains above bank " well capitalized " standards . • Nonperforming assets improved to $ 67.8 million or 0.99 % of total assets as of September 30 , 2021 , compared to $ 71.0 million or 1.08 % of total assets on a linked quarter basis . • Announced plan to acquire Amalgamated Bank of Chicago ( ABOC ) in an all - cash transaction that will bring Amalgamated's asset size to greater than $ 7.6 billion , building on the largest socially responsible , mission - oriented bank in the United States . Priscilla Sims Brown , President and Chief Executive Officer , commented , " I am pleased with our third quarter results which position us to achieve our revised full year guidance as we delivered strong results across the dimensions of revenue , profitability , credit quality , and foundational growth drivers such as PACE assessments and deposits . I am also encouraged that we can generate sustained and profitable growth as we begin the implementation of our strategic initiatives . During the third quarter , we grew PACE assessments 15 % to $ 627 million as compared to the second quarter of 2021 , resulting in net growth in our combined lending and PACE portfolio . Importantly , the headwinds that we have experienced in our loan portfolio continued to diminish through the third quarter positioning the Bank for a return to organic loan growth in the year ahead . Our deposit franchise also continued its growth trajectory , gaining 5.3 % from the previous quarter while our cost of deposits declined to 9 basis points , one of the lowest in the industry . Contributing to our low cost of funds was the strong growth in political deposits which increased by almost $ 250 million to $ 1 billion on a linked quarter basis . " Brown added , " We have very recently launched a series of growth initiatives designed to fuel our loan and trust growth while staying true to our mission and solidifying our position as America's Socially Responsible Bank . Our initiatives are focused on four pillars including the building of our business through our mission , improving our focus on and deepening insights of our core customers , developing and expanding our product expertise to grow our lending platform and trust businesses , and improving our data and technology . Also central to our growth initiatives is a disciplined M & A strategy where our recently announced acquisition of ABOC will allow us to expand into the third largest MSA in the U.S. as we offer larger - scale loans to a client base that has historically proven a need for them , cross - market our services to ABOC's customer base , and be able to reach new , untapped business in the greater Chicago and Midwestern markets . " 1 Effective March 1 , 2021 , the Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of the Bank in a reorganization effected under New York law and in accordance with the terms of a Plan of Acquisition dated September 4 , 2020. In this release , unless the context indicates otherwise , references to " we , " " us , " and " our " refer to the Company and the Bank . However , if the discussion relates to a period before the effective date , the terms refer only to the Bank . Results of Operations , Quarter Ended September 30 , 2021 Net income for the third quarter of 2021 was $ 14.4 million , or $ 0.46 per diluted share , compared to $ 10.4 million , or $ 0.33 per diluted share , for the second quarter of 2021 and $ 12.5 million , or $ 0.40 per diluted share , for the third quarter of 2020. The $ 4.0 million increase for the third quarter of 2021 was primarily due to a $ 2.3 million release of provision for loan losses compared to a $ 1.7 million provision expense in the preceding quarter , as well as $ 1.4 million increase in net interest income and a $ 1.4 million increase in non - interest income . These increases were partially offset by a $ 1.6 million increase in non - interest expense and a $ 1.1 million increase in income tax expense . Core net income ( non - GAAP ) ² for the third quarter of 2021 was $ 14.4 million , or $ 0.46 per diluted share , compared to $ 10.2 million , or $ 0.32 per diluted share , for the second quarter of 2021 and $ 16.8 million , or $ 0.54 per diluted share , for the third quarter of 2020. Excluded from core net income for the third quarter of 2021 was $ 0.4 million of non - interest income gains on the sale of securities and $ 0.4 million of non - interest expenses related to ABOC , and for the second quarter of 2021 was $ 0.3 million of non - interest income gains on the sale of securities . Excluded from core net income for