Catalyst Bancorp, the parent company for Opelousas-based Catalyst Bank, reported a net loss of $4.7 million in the first quarter, which included $5.5 million loss as part of a sale of investment securities and other expenses for the bank, officials announced Thursday.
The net loss was also the result of $560,000 cost for data conversion and other expenses associated with the bank’s upgrade to a new core processing system, said President and CEO Joe Zanco. The bank sold $48 million in available-for-sale securities, which were quoted at book value, during the first quarter that resulted in a $5.5 million pre-tax loss but yielded $42.6 million in proceeds.
“We completed a full upgrade of our banking systems and now offer among the very best technology in banking,” he said. “Second, we repositioned our balance sheet by selling lower-yielding investment securities. The sales generated $42.6 million in cash, which we plan to invest in new loans, higher-yielding investment securities, share repurchases and debt repayments.”
For the quarter loans totaled $143.5 million, down less than 1% from the fourth quarter of 2023, as strong construction loan growth was offset mostly by net declines in commercial, industrial and residential portfolios. Construction loans were mostly from multi-family residential development and additional fundings on several existing loans.
Total deposits were $169.6 million as of March 31, up 2% from the previous quarter.