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BANKWELL FINANCIAL GROUP REPORTS RECORD NET INCOME FOR THE THIRD QUARTER ; DECLARES FOURTH QUARTER DIVIDEND ; AND AUTHORIZES AN ADDITIONAL 200 THOUSAND SHARES FOR ITS SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM New Canaan , CT - October 27 , 2021 - Bankwell Financial Group , Inc. ( NASDAQ : BWFG ) reported record GAAP net income of $ 6.9 million , or $ 0.87 per share , for the third quarter of 2021 , versus $ 3.0 million , or $ 0.38 per share , for the same period in 2020 . The Company's Board of Directors declared an $ 0.18 per share cash dividend , payable November 22 , 2021 to shareholders of record on November 12 , 2021 . We recommend reading this earnings release in conjunction with the Third Quarter 2021 Investor Presentation , located at http://investor.mybankwell.com/Presentations and included as an exhibit to our October 27 , 2021 Current Report on Form 8 - K . Notes Bankwell Financial Group President and CEO , Christopher R. Gruseke : " On behalf of all of my colleagues at Bankwell , I am proud to announce our results for the most recent quarter . The Company achieved record levels in most performance categories of our business . Loan originations for the quarter totaled $ 200 million , with net loan growth of $ 92 million , excluding Paycheck Protection Program ( " PPP " ) loans . Year to date , gross loan balances excluding PPP loans have grown by $ 232 million for an annualized growth rate of 19 % . The Company's ROAE and ROAA were 14.09 % and 1.22 % , respectively , for the quarter . Loan demand remains brisk ; our healthy pipeline positions us for a strong finish to the year and lays the foundation for increased profitability in 2022 . " Confident in the strength of our balance sheet and the prospect of growing earnings , the Company's Board of Directors today authorized the repurchase of an additional 200,000 shares of its common stock . " Third Quarter 2021 Highlights : • Return on average assets was 1.22 % and return on average equity was 14.09 % for the quarter ended September 30 , 2021 . . . . . . • . • The net interest margin improved to 3.39 % for the quarter ended September 30 , 2021 . The efficiency ratio improved to 54.1 % for the quarter ended September 30 , 2021 . Excluding Paycheck Protection Program ( " PPP " ) loans , total gross loans were $ 1.8 billion , growing $ 232.1 million , or 14.6 % , compared to December 31 , 2020. On a quarterly basis loans grew $ 92.3 million , or 5.3 % compared to June 30 , 2021 . Gains from loan sales totaled $ 0.9 million and $ 2.3 million for the quarter and nine months ended September 30 , 2021 , respectively , compared to $ 27 thousand for the quarter and nine months ended September 30 , 2020 . Total deposits were $ 1.9 billion compared to $ 1.8 billion at December 31 , 2020 . Noninterest bearing deposits increased by $ 68.5 million , or 25.3 % compared to December 31 , 2020 . The percentage of noninterest bearing deposits to total deposits increased to 18.0 % compared to 14.8 % at December 31 , 2020 . The cost of interest bearing deposits decreased approximately 47 basis points to 0.60 % for the quarter ended September 30 , 2021 when compared to the quarter ended September 30 , 2020 . Investment securities totaled $ 105.9 million and represent 4.8 % of total assets . • Tangible book value per share rose to $ 25.25 compared to $ 22.43 at December 31 , 2020 . Shares issued and outstanding were 7,842,824 , reflecting repurchases of 52,277 shares of common stock at a weighted average price of $ 27.26 during the quarter ended September 30 , 2021 . 1