Home Savings 'well positioned' for 2015

Staff report

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Leaders at Home Savings and Loan Co. are pleased with the progress the bank made during the fourth quarter.

United Community Financial Corp., Home Savings’ parent company, earned $2.8 million, or $0.06 per diluted common share, compared with $2.2 million or $0.04 per diluted common share for the fourth quarter of 2013.

“We saw improvement in each of our key areas of focus for the organization,” said Gary Small, president and chief executive officer of UCFC and Home Savings, during a conference call Wednesday. “Core earnings were driven by strong loan growth, disciplined expense management and our balance-sheet restructuring initiative.”

The corporation reported its 2014 earnings at $50.2 million — including the recognition of $39.7 million of income-tax benefit from the reversal of a deferred tax asset valuation reserve — or $1 per share compared with $10 million or $0.07 per common share for 2013.

Driven by a 13.2 percent increase in commercial loans year over year, loans increased $115.7 million to $1.2 billion in 2014 from $1.1 billion in 2013. Residential real-estate loans increased 14.9 percent.

One area in which the company expects to see growth this year is in commercial lending. Small said the bank feels “well-positioned heading into 2015.”

“You will see us continue to add talent in the revenue-generating areas, supporting our expansion in the existing markets and developing new business initiatives,” Small said.