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HBT Financial , Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results July 26 , 2021 EXHIBIT 99.1 Second Quarter Highlights • Net income of $ 13.7 million , or $ 0.50 per diluted share ; return on average assets ( ROAA ) of 1.40 % ; return on average stockholders ' equity ( ROAE ) of 15.07 % ; and return on average tangible common equity ( ROATCE ) ( 1 ) of 16.22 % • Adjusted net income ( 1 ) of $ 14.2 million ; or $ 0.52 per diluted share , adjusted ROAA ( 1 ) of 1.45 % ; adjusted ROAE ( 1 ) of 15.56 % ; and adjusted ROATCE ( 1 ) of 16.76 % ( 1 ) See " Reconciliation of Non - GAAP Financial Measures " below for reconciliation of non - GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures . BLOOMINGTON , III . , July 26 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- HBT Financial , Inc. ( NASDAQ : HBT ) ( the " Company " or " HBT Financial " or " HBT " ) , the holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company , today reported net income of $ 13.7 million , or $ 0.50 diluted earnings per share , for the second quarter of 2021. This compares to net income of $ 15.2 million , or $ 0.55 diluted earnings per share , for the first quarter of 2021 , and net income of $ 7.4 million , or $ 0.27 diluted earnings per share , for the second quarter of 2020 . Fred L. Drake , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HBT Financial , said , " As economic activity increased in our markets , we saw strong performance among our customer base resulting in continued inflows of core deposits , growth in earning assets , increases in card income and wealth management revenue , and further improvement in asset quality . Combined with disciplined expense control , these positive trends resulted in continued solid results for the Company . As economic conditions further improve during the second half of the year , we are hopeful to see higher levels of loan demand that will allow us to deploy our significant excess liquidity . We are also focused on completing our acquisition of NXT Bancorporation , which we still expect to occur in the fourth quarter of 2021. We believe the addition of NXT and the presence it will provide in faster growing markets in Iowa will enhance the value of our franchise and improve our ability to generate higher levels of organic growth in the years ahead . " Adjusted Net Income In addition to reporting GAAP results , the Company believes adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share , which adjust for the additional C Corp equivalent tax expense for periods prior to October 11 , 2019 , acquisition expenses , branch closure expenses , net earnings ( losses ) from closed or sold operations , charges related to termination of certain employee benefit plans , realized gains ( losses ) on sales of securities , and mortgage servicing rights ( " MSR " ) fair value adjustments , provide investors with additional insight into its operational performance . The Company reported adjusted net income of $ 14.2 million , or $ 0.52 adjusted diluted earnings per share , for the second quarter of 2021. This compares to adjusted net income of $ 14.0 million , or $ 0.51 adjusted diluted earnings per share , for the first quarter of 2021 , and adjusted net income of $ 8.2 million , or $ 0.30 adjusted diluted earnings per share , for the second quarter of 2020 ( see " Reconciliation of Non - GAAP Financial Measures " tables ) . Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin Net interest income for the second quarter of 2021 was $ 29.7 million , an increase of 2.0 % from $ 29.1 million for the first quarter of 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in interest - earning assets . Relative to the second quarter of 2020 , net interest income increased $ 0.8 million , or 2.7 % . The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in interest - earning assets . Net interest margin for the second quarter of 2021 was 3.14 % , compared to 3.25 % for the first quarter of 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to an unfavorable shift in the mix of earning assets , primarily due to increased deposit balances being held in cash and lower - yielding securities . Relative to the second quarter of 2020 , net interest margin decreased from 3.51 % . The decrease was primarily due to a decline in the average yield on earning assets and increased deposit balances being held in cash and lower - yielding securities . Noninterest Income Noninterest income for the second quarter of 2021 was $ 8.8 million , a decrease of 18.8 % from $ 10.8 million for the first quarter of 2021. Second quarter 2021 results included a negative $ 0.3 million mortgage servicing rights ( " MSR " ) fair value adjustment compared to a positive $ 1.7 million fair value adjustment in the first quarter of 2021. Additionally , gains on sale of mortgage loans decreased $ 0.5 million due to a lower level of mortgage refinancing activity . Relative to the second quarter of 2020 , noninterest income increased 8.9 % from $ 8.1 million , primarily attributable to an increase in wealth management fees and card income . Wealth management fees increased $ 0.5 million as a result of higher values of assets under management during second quarter of 2021 relative to the second quarter of 2020. Card income increased $ 0.5 million as a result of increased card transaction volume driven by the full reopening of Illinois following COVID - 19 prevention measures . Partially offsetting these increases was a $ 0.6 million decrease in gains on sale of mortgage of loans due to a lower level of mortgage refinancing activity . Noninterest Expense