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EQUITY BANK Equity Bancshares , Inc. Second Quarter Results Include Strong Organic Loan Growth , Company to Acquire St. Joseph Bank Locations , Expanding Missouri Network July 19 , 2021 Annualized organic non - PPP loan growth contributes to $ 1.03 per diluted share , Company will acquire three Security Bank of KC branch locations in St. Joseph , Missouri WICHITA , Kan . , July 19 , 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 $ 15.2 million and $ 1.03 per diluted share for the second quarter ended June 30 , 2021 . " Our Equity Bank team had an excellent quarter serving our customers , expanding our delivery channels and adding shareholder value . Exclusive of the Paycheck Protection Program , we organically grew gross loans by $ 81.8 million , an annualized rate of 14.75 % , through the focused efforts of our sales and operational teams , " said Brad S. Elliott , Chairman and CEO of Equity . " A key component of our results is growth in our core deposit customer base , with new banking products contributing to a $ 1.1 million increase in service fee revenue , as well as the continued addition of trust and wealth management customer relationships . " Equity customers successfully had $ 99.7 million of Paycheck Protection Program ( " PPP " ) loans forgiven during the quarter , resulting in the recognition of fee income totaling $ 5.7 million in the three - month period ended June 30 , 2021. At June 30 , 2021 , the total unrecognized fee income associated with PPP loans was $ 10.7 million . Through two rounds of PPP , Equity originated more than $ 610.0 million in PPP loans . Further driving results this quarter was customer and relationship growth within Equity Trust and Wealth Management and Equity's consumer deposit base , expansion of non - interest income with Equity's debit card platform and increased transaction activity within our deposit customer base . The Company has announced its expansion into St. Joseph , Missouri , with a definitive branch purchase and assumption agreement to acquire the assets and assume the deposits of three bank locations from Security Bank of Kansas City ( " Security " ) , a subsidiary of Valley View Financial Co. ( " Valley " ) of Overland Park , Kansas . Equity anticipates closing the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2021 . " We are pleased with the opportunity to offer Equity Bank products and services to customers in Northwest Missouri , and St. Joseph is a great fit within our network , " said Mr. Elliott . " We have been able to grow loans , fee income and our core deposit base effectively in Western Missouri with a focus on local community banking and we believe this approach will serve customers well in our new St. Joseph region . " " Our recent merger announcement with American State Bancshares , Inc. is a great cultural fit for us as well as an expansion of our Kansas market , and our teams have worked diligently alongside one another . We remain on target for a closing and conversion of data systems in early October , " said Mr. Elliott . " I thank everyone on both the Equity and American State Bancshares , Inc. teams for their collaboration and hard work to make sure we continue to deliver excellent customer service while increasing shareholder value . " Notable Items : • Quarter over quarter , service fee revenue , including deposit services , mortgage banking , trust and wealth and insurance services increased to $ 6.4 million from $ 5.3 million , or 20.77 % . • The Company authorized a second stock repurchase program in the third quarter of 2020 totaling 800,000 shares . During the quarter ended June 30 , 2021 , the Company repurchased 73,070 shares at a weighted average cost of $ 28.94 per share , totaling $ 2.1 million . At the end of the quarter , capacity of 180,687 shares remained under the current repurchase program . • Additional information attained on the assets purchased through the Almena State Bank ( " Almena " ) transaction indicated a more positive outcome than originally expected , resulting in a net reduction in reserves on the balance sheet and an increase in gain on acquisition of $ 663 thousand during the quarter . • During the quarter ended June 30 , 2021 , there was a release of allowance for credit losses of $ 1.7 million as compared to a release of $ 5.8 million in the quarter ended March 31 , 2021. The release in the second quarter was driven primarily by improvement in assets specifically assessed for impairment as asset quality improved quarter over quarter . Equity's Balance Sheet Highlights : • Total loans held for investment of $ 2.82 billion at June 30 , 2021 , as compared to total loans held for investment of $ 2.80 billion at March 31 , 2021. The periodic change included organic loan production of $ 81.8 million , or 14.75 % . • Total deposits of $ 3.69 billion at June 30 , 2021 , as compared to $ 3.63 billion at March 31 , 2021. Checking , savings and money market accounts were $ 3.03 billion at June 30 , 2021 , relative to $ 3.05 billion at March 31 , 2021. Included in the periodic change was a $ 20.2 million increase in non - interest - bearing deposits . As compared to December 31 , 2020 , the Bank has increased non - interest - bearing deposits by $ 200.9 million , or 25.38 % . • The allowance for credit losses as of June 30 , 2021 , was $ 51.8 million , or 1.84 % of total loans and 2.04 % of total loans excluding PPP assets .