HONOLULU, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Central Pacific Financial
Corp. (NYSE: CPF), parent company of Central Pacific Bank, announced it
completed an investment portfolio repositioning to reduce its net interest
income volatility and increase prospective earnings and net interest margin.
Specifically, Central Pacific sold $109 million in available-for-sale
investment securities with an average yield of 3.61% and reinvested the
proceeds in a similar amount of new investment securities with an average
yield of 5.61%. An after-tax loss of $954,000, or $0.03 per diluted share,
was recognized on the investment sale.
As a result of the repositioning, Central Pacific reduced its interest
rate risk exposure to declining market interest rates and expects 2007 net
interest income and net interest margin to improve by approximately
$2.2 million and 5 basis points, respectively.
"Management is constantly evaluating the composition of our balance sheet
in light of changing market conditions and asset/liability objectives," stated
Clint Arnoldus, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This repositioning of
our investment portfolio reduces our risk to declining market interest rates
while also improving our future earnings."
Central Pacific Financial Corp. is the fourth largest financial
institution in Hawaii with more than $5.0 billion in assets. Central Pacific
Bank, its primary subsidiary, operates 38 branch offices and more than 90 ATMs
throughout Hawaii. For additional information, please visit our website at
http://www.centralpacificbank.com.
This document may contain forward-looking statements concerning
projections of revenues, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures,
dividends, capital structure, or other financial items, concerning plans and
objectives of management for future operations, concerning future economic
performance, or concerning any of the assumptions underlying or relating to
any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the
fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts, and may
include the words "believes," "plans," "intends," "expects," "anticipates,"
"forecasts" or words of similar meaning. While we believe that our
forward-looking statements and the assumptions underlying them are reasonably
based, such statements and assumptions, are by their nature subject to risks
and uncertainties, and thus could later prove to be inaccurate or incorrect.
Accordingly, actual results could materially differ from projections for a
variety of reasons, to include, but not limited to: the impact of local,
national, and international economies and events, including natural disasters,
on the Company's business and operations and on tourism, the military, and
other major industries operating within the Hawaii market; the impact of
legislation affecting the banking industry; the impact of competitive
products, services, pricing, and other competitive forces; movements in
interest rates; loan delinquency rates and changes in asset quality generally;
and the price of the Company's stock. For further information on factors that
could cause actual results to materially differ from projections, please see
the Company's publicly available Securities and Exchange Commission filings,
including the Company's Form 10-K for the last fiscal year. The Company does
not update any of its forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Central Pacific Financial Corp.
Contact: Investors, David Morimoto, SVP & Treasurer, +1-808-544-0627, investor@centralpacificbank.com, or Media, Ann Takiguchi Marcos, VP & PR/Communications Manager, +1-808-544-0685, ann.takiguchi@centralpacificbank.com, both of Central Pacific Financial Corp.