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ESSA Bancorp Exhibit 99.1 ESSA Bancorp , Inc. Announces Fiscal 2021 Third Quarter , Nine Months Ended June 30 , 2021 Financial Results Stroudsburg , PA . - July 28 , 2021 — ESSA Bancorp , Inc. ( the “ Company ” ) ( NASDAQ : ESSA ) , the holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust ( the " Bank ” ) , a $ 1.8 billion asset financial institution providing full service commercial and retail banking , financial , and investment services in eastern Pennsylvania , today announced financial results for the fiscal third quarter and nine months ended June 30 , 2021 . Net income was $ 4.0 million , or $ 0.41 per diluted share , for the three months ended June 30 , 2021 , up 6.6 % compared with $ 3.8 million , or $ 0.37 per diluted share , for the three months ended June 30 , 2020. Net income increased 18.0 % to $ 12.5 million , or $ 1.25 per diluted share , for the nine months ended June 30 , 2021 , compared with $ 10.6 million , or $ 1.03 per diluted share , for the nine months ended June 30 , 2020 . Gary S. Olson , President and CEO , commented : " The Company's financial performance in the quarter and nine months reflected continued operating efficiency , improving asset quality , balance sheet management and margin improvement that supported year - over - year earnings growth . Strong financial performance was reflected in measures of shareholder value , including increased stockholders ' equity , higher retained earnings and significant growth in tangible book value since the beginning of fiscal 2021. " " We continued our focus on improving net income by carefully managing expenses and maintaining credit quality . Lowering the Company's liability costs , including reducing quarterly interest expense by 65.8 % year - over - year , contributed to meaningful net interest margin and interest rate spread improvement in the third quarter and nine months of 2021 compared with a year earlier . " We have been very encouraged by the continued strength and quality of the Company's loan portfolio , which supported a lower loan loss provision in the third quarter of 2021 compared with the third quarter of 2020. Based on current asset quality trends , we will continue to assess the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses . " " Commercial real estate ( CRE ) activity has been a positive as we've added new customer relationships and have grown the CRE portfolio . Construction lending continued to reflect homebuilding activity . We continue to look for opportunities to reduce our retained residential mortgage portfolio . Residential mortgage originations , which have been a strong driver of noninterest income through gains on the sale of originated loans to the secondary market , have enabled us to participate in the residential housing market without retaining long - term , lower - interest loans . ” " Commercial loans declined , reflecting continued paydowns of lines of credit as customers used cash reserves for operations . The commercial loan portfolio also reflected ongoing forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program ( PPP ) loans , which added to the decline in commercial loan totals . " " We are encouraged by the progress made throughout our served communities to emerge from the pandemic . In light of the economic uncertainties and potential health risks still present , the Company continues to monitor and manage risks associated with the pandemic . We plan to continue to operate in a safe environment which includes allowing staff to work on site and remotely while maintaining the same standards of quality our customers expect . "