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EQUITY BANK Equity Bancshares , Inc. Reports First - Quarter Net Income of $ 15.1 million and $ 1.02 Earnings Per Diluted Share April 20 , 2021 Company experienced 7.6 % of annualized loan growth not including Paycheck Protection Program ; originated $ 233 million of new Paycheck Protection Program loans WICHITA , Kan . , April 20 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Equity Bancshares , Inc. ( NASDAQ : EQBK ) , ( “ Equity ” , “ the Company ” , “ we ” , “ us ” , “ our ” ) , the Wichita - based holding company of Equity Bank , reported net income of $ 15.1 million and $ 1.02 per diluted share , including $ 0.65 of core earnings per diluted share the first quarter ended March 31 , 2021 . Core earnings of $ 0.65 per diluted share for the quarter were driven by non - Paycheck Protection Program ( " PPP " ) loan growth of $ 43.7 million , representing growth of 1.9 % , or 7.6 % annualized growth from December 31 , 2020. Further driving results this quarter was the recognition of origination fee income from the successful forgiveness of PPP loans by the SBA ; improved operating performance with many of our fee - based initiatives such as wealth management and trust business lines , and debit card and commercial credit card interchange income . Expense control remained a focus with non - interest expenses , excluding merger related expenses , down from the linked - and - comparable - quarters in 2020 . " I'm very proud of the collaboration and entrepreneurial spirit of our Equity teams . Our lending , operations , and customer service teams have worked together to create innovative processes and efficiencies that benefit our customers " said Brad S. Elliott , Chairman and CEO of Equity . " Our teams have worked to onboard new core deposit customers , and we have seen sustained increases in usage of our digital products , including online banking , mobile deposit , and bill pay - while continuing to service customers from fully opened lobbies . Entrepreneurial spirit is one of our core values , and we believe business , commercial , and retail customers continue to choose Equity Bank for our approach . " " Throughout our footprint , our Equity Bank teams worked incredibly hard on behalf of our customers to secure PPP funds and help our customers maintain their businesses and livelihoods , " said Mr. Elliott . " A community bank prioritizes its customers and delivers dependable , innovative and round the clock service when our customers need it . We've remained open , ready and available to our customers to serve loan and business growth needs in all facets . " In the quarter ended March 31 , 2021 , Equity originated $ 233.6 million in total PPP loans , and Equity's total outstanding PPP loans were $ 414.1 million at the end of the quarter . The Company's customers successfully had $ 99.7 million of PPP loans forgiven during the quarter , resulting in the recognition of fee income totaling $ 2.3 million in the three - month period ended March 31 , 2021. At March 31 , 2021 , the total unrecognized fee income associated with PPP loans was $ 12.7 million . Through two rounds of PPP , Equity originated more than $ 610 million in PPP loans . The results in the quarter ended December 31 , 2020 , reflect the Company's purchase of assets and deposit liabilities of Almena State Bank . Equity completed the data system conversion of Almena State Bank on January 16 , 2021 , following the acquisition of Almena State Bank branches from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( " FDIC " ) in October 2020. Results also reflect Equity customers ' obtaining forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program ( " PPP " ) loans from the Small Business Administration ( " SBA " ) totaling $ 102.8 million resulting in a recognition of $ 3.8 million of fee income . Notable Items : • The Company authorized a second stock repurchase program in the third quarter of 2020 totaling 800,000 shares . During the quarter ended March 31 , 2021 , the Company repurchased 233,012 shares at a weighted average cost of $ 25.35 per share , totaling $ 5.9 million . At the end of the quarter , capacity of 253,757 shares remained under the current repurchase program . • The Company adopted ASU 2016-13 , also known as Current Expected Credit Losses ( " CECL " ) at January 1 , 2021. Upon implementation , the Company recognized a day one after tax $ 12.4 million reduction in stockholders ' equity and transferred $ 11.8 million of purchase credit impaired ( " PCI " ) marks to the allowance for credit losses ( " ACL " ) as purchase credit deteriorated ( " PCD " ) reserves . On implementation , the allowance for credit losses , including reserve on unfunded commitments , increased to $ 62.1 million from $ 33.7 million at December 31 , 2020 . ⚫ During the quarter ended March 31 , 2021 , there was a release of reserve for credit losses of $ 5.8 million as compared to a $ 1.0 million provision for loan losses in the quarter ended December 31 , 2020 . Equity's Balance Sheet Highlights : • Total loans held for investment of $ 2.80 billion at March 31 , 2021 , as compared to total loans held for investment of $ 2.59 billion at December 31 , 2020 . • Total deposits of $ 3.63 billion at March 31 , 2021 , as compared to $ 3.45 billion at December 31 , 2020. Signature deposits , including core deposits comprised of checking , savings and money market accounts , were $ 3.05 billion at March 31 , 2021 , relative to $ 2.82 billion at December 31 , 2020. Included in this signature deposit growth was a $ 180.7 million increase in non - interest - bearing deposits , from $ 791.6 million at December 31 , 2020 , to $ 972.4 million at March 31 , 2021 . • Total assets were $ 4.20 billion at March 31 , 2021 , as compared to $ 4.01 billion at December 31 , 2020 . Financial Results for the Quarter Ended March 31 , 2021