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Western New England Bancorp , Inc. 8 - K For further information contact : James C. Hagan , President and CEO Guida R. Sajdak , Executive Vice President and CFO Meghan Hibner , Vice President and Investor Relations Officer 413-568-1911 WESTERN NEW ENGLAND BANCORP , INC . REPORTS RESULTS FOR THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31 , 2021 AND DECLARES QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND Exhibit 99.1 THE COMPANY ALSO ANNOUNCES A NEW SHARE REPURCHASE PLAN AND COMPLETION OF A $ 20 MILLION PRIVATE PLACEMENT OF SUBORDINATED DEBT Westfield , Massachusetts , April 27 , 2021 : Western New England Bancorp , Inc. ( the " Company " or " WNEB " ) ( NasdaqGS : WNEB ) , the holding company for Westfield Bank ( the " Bank ” ) , announced today the unaudited results of operations for the three months ended March 31 , 2021. The Company reported net income of $ 5.8 million , or $ 0.24 per diluted share , for the three months ended March 31 , 2021 , as compared to net income of $ 2.1 million , or $ 0.08 per diluted share , for the three months ended March 31 , 2020. On a linked quarter basis , net income was $ 5.8 million , or $ 0.24 per diluted share , as compared to net income of $ 5.0 million , or $ 0.20 per diluted share , for the three months ended December 31 , 2020 . The Company also announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $ 0.05 per share , payable on or about May 26 , 2021 to shareholders of record on May 12 , 2021. In addition , the Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase plan ( the “ 2021 Plan ” ) , pursuant to which the Company may repurchase up to 2.4 million shares , or approximately 10 % , of the Company's outstanding shares , upon the completion of the stock repurchase plan adopted in 2020 ( the " 2020 Plan ” ) . The 2020 Plan was announced on October 27 , 2020 , and as of March 31 , 2021 , there were 326,936 shares available for purchase under the 2020 Plan . In addition , on April 20 , 2021 , the Company announced the completion of an offering of $ 20 million in aggregate principal amount of its 4.875 % fixed - to - floating rate subordinated notes ( the " Notes " ) to certain qualified institutional buyers in a private placement transaction . The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this private placement for funding organic growth and the repurchase of the Company's common stock . James C. Hagan , President and Chief Executive Officer , stated , " We are pleased to report that we generated strong earnings for the second consecutive quarter despite the business disruptions caused by the COVID - 19 pandemic over the last twelve months . The positive results were primarily driven by the continued expansion of the net interest margin over the last few quarters , as well as income from the Paycheck Protection Program ( “ PPP ” ) . The improved mix in our deposits and reductions in deposit costs led to our third consecutive quarter of core net interest margin expansion . Total deposits increased $ 116 million , or 6 % , quarter - over - quarter and non - interest bearing deposits expanded to a record 28 % of total deposits as of March 31 , 2021. New customer relationships , government stimulus - related deposits , as well as PPP loan proceeds have all been valuable contributors to our deposit growth over the last few quarters . Year - over - year , total deposits increased $ 448 million , or 26 % . Many factors were key in our growth , including the increase in our traditional market share due to the three new branches opened in 2020 as well as income from government stimulus programs . These results were achieved while also maintaining our historic solid asset quality during the pandemic . Our borrowers ' financial health continues to show improvements as indicated by our solid asset quality metrics and the decrease in loan deferrals from 14.7 % on June 30 , 2020 to 3.8 % on March 31 , 2021. Total delinquency and non - performing loans , excluding PPP loans , remain at acceptable levels of 0.53 % and 0.39 % , respectively . In order to preserve capital during the uncertainty driven by the pandemic , we paused our share repurchase activity during the second quarter of 2020. During the first quarter of 2021 , we repurchased 708,434 shares at an average price per share of $ 8.12 . We continue to believe that the stock repurchase plan is a solid investment for our shareholders and provides us with the opportunity to leverage our capital to improve earnings per share . 1