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First Bank Reports First Quarter 2021 Net Income of $ 9.7 Million PUBLISHED APR 26 , 2021 4:30 PM EDT Record Quarterly Net Income and EPS For the First Quarter 2021 : Strong Revenue and Earnings Growth , Stable and Solid Asset Quality Metrics Continued Effective Expense Management with an Improved Efficiency Ratio -- First Bank ( Nasdaq Global Market : HAMILTON , N.J. , April 26 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) - FRBA ) today announced results for the first quarter of 2021. Net income for first quarter 2021 was $ 9.7 million , or $ 0.49 per diluted share , compared to $ 3.2 million , or $ 0.16 per diluted share , for the first quarter of 2020. Return on average assets , return on average equity and return on average tangible equityi for the first quarter of 2021 were 1.66 % , 16.21 % and 17.52 % , respectively , compared to first quarter 2020 return on average assets , return on average equity and return on average tangible equity of 0.63 % , 5.69 % and 6.19 % , respectively . First Quarter 2021 Performance Highlights : Total net revenue ( net interest income plus non - interest income ) of $ 22.3 million for the first quarter of 2021 grew $ 5.3 million , or 30.8 % , compared to the prior year quarter . Total loans were $ 2.02 billion at March 31 , 2021 , an increase of $ 263.8 million , or 15.0 % , compared with March 31 , 2020 , and a decrease of $ 25.4 million , or 1.2 % , compared to December 31 , 2020 . Total deposits of $ 1.97 billion at March 31 , 2021 increased $ 244.9 million , or 14.2 % , from March 31 , 2020 , and increased $ 66.9 million , or 3.5 % , from December 31 , 2020 . Non - interest - bearing deposits at March 31 , 2021 of $ 500.0 million , increased $ 208.1 million , or 71.3 % , from March 31 , 2020 , and increased $ 75.9 million , or 17.9 % , from December 31 , 2020 . Continued effective non - interest expense management was reflected in the first quarter 2021 efficiency ratioii of 47.66 % , compared to 58.03 % for first quarter 2020 and 52.54 % for the fourth quarter of 2020 .