Loan growth and strong net-interest margins continue to be...

Loan growth and strong net-interest margins continue to be the engines that drive our profitability. With fairly low cost of funds and a net-interest margin that grew to over 6 percent at the end of the quarter, our spreads are yielding very healthy returns to our bottom line. Even with the steady climb in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve Bank over the last 18 months, our loan pipeline remains very strong with over $100 million in pending applications.