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Financial InformationTo Our Shareholders, Customers, and Friends:
Stability and continuity are two things we pride
ourselves in at Citizens National Bank of Albion. With all the tumultuous events occurring in the banking
industry, we feel blessed and fortunate to report another year of
good financial performance.
In the following pages, comparative data for the years 2008
and 2009 as audited by Crowe Horwath are available for your review
and analysis.
Many positive things occurred this past year.
We continue to have growth in the size of the
bank.
At year-end 2009, the total assets of Citizens
National Bank of Albion were $220,120,001.
This is an increase of $12,158,370.
The growth in assets can be attributed to a
larger volume of loans and an increase in our
Federal Reserve account balance.
The rise in assets is offset by more total
deposits.
Our deposit rates, along with the uncertainty
in the rest of the financial world, have attracted
additional deposits from existing customers as well
as new customers.
Net income in 2009 was $2,396,641, which is $96,412 higher than 2008. This level of income allowed us to once again distribute $800,000 as a dividend to our stockholders and still retain a comfortable amount as shareholder equity. As of December 31, 2009, the capital of the bank was $36,944,896. We remain one of the most highly capitalized banks in the area.
Our bank’s success in today’s challenging financial
environment is remarkable and can be attributed to
several factors.
First, the bank could not be successful
without our loyal customers.
In return, we have tried to manage the bank
in a conservative way so that we are there to help
them in tough economic times like we are currently
experiencing.
Although our agricultural customers had a
very wet spring and were dealing with high input
prices, the 2009 yields were good, and our farmers
had a profitable year.
In Southern Illinois, we still have high
levels of unemployment, but we feel fortunate to
have local employers such as Champion Laboratories,
Inc., which is the major employer of our county.
Another major part of our success is our employees.
We continue to improve our efficiency, which
allows us to grow the bank without significantly
adding to our present staff.
With technological advancements, our
employees are constantly changing their duties to
meet our customers’ needs, and we thank them for
their hard work.
Further, our banking branches in Olney, Mt.
Erie, and Crossville have been of critical
importance in helping us gain market share in the
surrounding counties of Richland, Wayne, and White.
We are also appreciative of our Board of Directors.
As a Director, each person puts in extra time
attending special meetings and soliciting new
customers to the bank.
They have worked diligently to determine the
best plan for expanding the bank in a conservative
manner.
Lastly, we want to thank our shareholders.
Other financial institutions tried to appease
stockholders by going for high-yielding investments.
Many of these investments turned into losses
for these institutions, at times resulting in bank
failure.
Fortunately, we avoided those risky
transactions and the losses associated with them. Our stockholders have expressed their appreciation for our
dividend payout and the accumulation of earnings in
our capital account.
The banking regulators have now realized the
importance of capital and are monitoring it like
never before.
With the support of our stockholders and the
guidance of our Board of Directors, we have
shareholder equity of nearly $37,000,000.
Looking forward, we remain concerned with the overall
economy and the local economy in particular, which
sometimes trails in performance.
Nevertheless, we are prepared to fulfill our
obligations to our customers and look for new
opportunities to better serve them in the future. Thank you, and we wish you well in 2010.
Sincerely, Jan D. Ridgely |
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