RBB Bancorp Reports Third Quarter 2026 Earnings and Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.16 Per Common Share

RBB Bancorp Reports Third Quarter 2026 Earnings and Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.16 Per Common Share LOS ANGELES, Oct. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RBB Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBB) and its bank subsidiary, Royal Business Bank (the “Bank”), collectively referred to herein as the “Company,” announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026.

Third Quarter 2026 Highlights

The Company reported net income of $12.6 million, or $0.74 diluted earnings per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared to net income of $10.1 million, or $0.59 diluted earnings per share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2026.

“Our third quarter results reflected the continued strength of our core banking franchise as the partial redemption of our subordinated notes and the continued resolution of nonperforming assets contributed to higher net interest income," said Johnny Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer of RBB Bancorp. "We continued to improve the quality of our funding base through strong retail deposit growth, which allowed us to reduce our reliance on wholesale deposits. Credit quality continued to improve, with nonperforming assets declining 11% from the prior quarter. Strong loan production drove double-digit annualized loan growth in the quarter, and with healthy pipelines and business activity in our markets, we believe we are well positioned to continue these positive trends to finish the year."

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1 Reconciliations of the non–U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) measures included at the end of this press release.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income was $31.8 million for the third quarter of 2026, compared to $30.1 million for the second quarter of 2026. The $1.7 million increase was due to a $2.1 million increase in interest income, partially offset by a $473,000 increase in interest expense. The increase in interest income was due to the combination of a $1.5 million increase in loan interest income as average loans and nonaccrual interest recoveries increased, one additional day in the quarter and a special dividend of $320,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) in the third quarter of 2026. There was no special dividend from the FHLB in the second quarter of 2026. The increase in interest expense was due mainly to a $239,000 increase in interest on total borrowings due to higher average balances partially offset by lower rates and a $234,000 increase in interest on deposits due mainly to one additional day in the quarter.

The net interest margin (“NIM”) increased 10 basis points to 3.16% for the third quarter of 2026 from 3.06% for the second quarter of 2026. The NIM increase included a 9 basis point increase in the yield on average total interest-earning assets and a 3 basis point decrease in the overall cost of funds. The yield on average total interest-earning assets increased to 5.90% for the third quarter of 2026 from 5.81% for the second quarter of 2026, due mostly to the impact of higher nonaccrual interest recoveries on loans and the FHLB special dividend received in the third quarter.

The average total cost of funds decreased 3 basis points to 2.97% for the third quarter of 2026 from 3.00% for the second quarter of 2026, due mostly to a decrease in the cost of borrowings due to the partial redemption of $40.0 million of subordinated notes on July 1, 2026. Average noninterest-bearing deposits increased to approximately 17% of average total deposits for the third quarter of 2026 from 16% for the second quarter of 2026. The period end weighted average interest rate for total deposits increased to 2.82% at September 30, 2026 from 2.75% at June 30, 2026. The increase is due in part to the impact of the recent 25 basis point increase to the Federal funds rate.

Provision for Credit Losses

The provision for credit losses was $500,000 for the third quarter of 2026 compared to no provision for the second quarter of 2026. The third quarter 2026 provision for credit losses reflected a provision for loan losses of $500,000 and no provision for unfunded loan commitments. The third quarter provision for loan losses was due mainly to the impact of net loan growth, partially offset by improved credit quality trends and underlying economic forecast indicators. Net charge-offs in both the third quarter and second quarter of 2026 represented 0.01% of average loans on an annualized basis.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the third quarter of 2026 was $5.1 million, an increase of $2.1 million from $3.0 million for the second quarter of 2026. The increase in noninterest income was mainly due to higher other income of $2.7 million, offset partially by lower gain on sale of loans of $875,000 due to lower sale volume. The increase in other income was primarily due to a $2.7 million gain on the sale of the Bank's office building in Brooklyn, New York. As part of the sale, the Bank entered into a four month lease to house its loan operations center through the end of 2026. These operations will relocate to new leased space, also located in Brooklyn, starting in 2027.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense for the third quarter of 2026 was $19.5 million, an increase of $526,000 from $19.0 million for the second quarter of 2026. The increase was due mainly to higher salaries and benefits and occupancy costs. Both of these categories increased due to a full quarter of operations for the Northern California loan production office and occupancy costs also included rent for the Brooklyn loan operations center after the sale of the building. The efficiency ratio was 53.0% for the third quarter of 2026, compared to 57.5% for the second quarter of 2026. The improvement in the efficiency ratio is attributed mostly to higher net revenues.

Income Taxes

The effective tax rate was 24.9% for the third quarter of 2026 and 28.0% for the second quarter of 2026. The decrease in the effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2026 was due to higher benefits from purchased Federal tax credits recognized in the quarter. The effective tax rate for 2026 is estimated to be 26.9% compared to 24.2% for 2025. The estimated effective tax rate for 2026 is expected to be higher than the effective tax rate in 2025 due mainly to a higher multi-state blended tax rate and lower benefits from purchased Federal tax credits for the full year.

Balance Sheet

At September 30, 2026, total assets were $4.3 billion, a $23.7 million, or 2.2% annualized, decrease compared to total assets of $4.3 billion at June 30, 2026, and a $42.8 million, or 1.0%, increase compared to total assets of $4.2 billion at September 30, 2025.

Loan and Securities Portfolio

Loans held for investment ("HFI") totaled $3.4 billion as of September 30, 2026, an increase of $89.8 million, or 10.8% annualized, compared to June 30, 2026 and an increase of $96.6 million, or 2.9%, compared to September 30, 2025. The increase in loans in the third quarter of 2026 included $154.0 million of originations with an average yield of 6.30%, $30.5 million in advances, and $21.9 million in purchases, offset by payoffs/paydowns of $113.8 million and loans sold of $2.7 million. The loan to deposit ratio was 100.1% at September 30, 2026, compared to 97.6% at June 30, 2026 and 98.1% at September 30, 2025.

As of September 30, 2026, available for sale securities ("AFS") totaled $381.3 million, a decrease of $25.8 million from June 30, 2026, primarily related to maturities and paydowns of $52.7 million, offset by purchases of $36.4 million during the third quarter of 2026. As of September 30, 2026, net unrealized pre-tax losses totaled $30.6 million, a $9.7 million increase due to increased market interest rates when compared to net unrealized pre-tax losses of $20.9 million as of June 30, 2026.

Deposits

Total deposits were $3.4 billion as of September 30, 2026, an increase of $4.6 million, or 0.5% annualized, compared to June 30, 2026 and an increase of $28.8 million, or 0.9%, compared to September 30, 2025. The increase in total deposits during the third quarter of 2026 was due to a $63.3 million increase in retail deposits, offset by a $58.7 million decrease in wholesale deposits. The increase in retail deposits included a $46.5 million increase in non-maturity interest-bearing accounts and a $51.6 million increase in time deposits, offset by a $34.7 million decrease in demand deposits. Noninterest-bearing deposits totaled $556.8 million, or 16.4% of total deposits, at September 30, 2026, a decrease of $34.7 million compared to June 30, 2026, and an increase of $6.4 million compared to September 30, 2025.

Credit Quality

Nonperforming assets totaled $38.7 million, or 0.91% of total assets, at September 30, 2026, down from $43.6 million, or 1.02% of total assets, at June 30, 2026, and down from $54.3 million, or 1.29% of total assets, at September 30, 2025. The decrease in nonperforming assets during the third quarter of 2026 was due to a decrease of $4.9 million in nonperforming loans (“NPL”). Other real estate owned (“OREO”) totaled $19.8 million at September 30, 2026 and June 30, 2026, and $8.8 million at September 30, 2025.

NPLs totaled $18.8 million, or 0.55% of total loans, at September 30, 2026, down $4.9 million from $23.8 million, or 0.72% of total loans, at June 30, 2026 and down $26.6 million from $45.5 million, or 1.38% of total loans, at September 30, 2025. The $4.9 million decrease in NPLs during the third quarter of 2026 was due mostly to $5.3 million in payoffs/paydowns partially offset by additions of $522,000.

Substandard loans totaled $57.3 million, or 1.69% of total loans, at September 30, 2026, down from $61.5 million, or 1.86% of total loans, at June 30, 2026 and $76.9 million, or 2.33% of total loans, at September 30, 2025. The $4.2 million decrease in substandard loans during the third quarter of 2026 was primarily due to $5.4 million in payoffs/paydowns, partially offset by additions of $1.2 million. Of the total substandard loans outstanding at September 30, 2026, there were $38.5 million, or 67% of such loans, on accrual status.

Special mention loans totaled $24.3 million, or 0.72% of total loans, at September 30, 2026, up from $20.3 million, or 0.61% of total loans, at June 30, 2026, and down from $49.3 million, or 1.49% of total loans, at September 30, 2025. The $4.1 million increase for the third quarter of 2026 was primarily due to additions of $7.0 million, partially offset by payoffs/paydowns of $1.5 million, and upgrades of $1.4 million to pass-rated loans. As of September 30, 2026, all special mention loans were on accural status.

30-89 day delinquent loans, excluding NPLs, totaled $7.2 million, or 0.21% of total loans, at September 30, 2026, down from $9.0 million, or 0.27% of total loans, at June 30, 2026, and up from $6.5 million, or 0.20% of total loans, at September 30, 2025. The $1.7 million decrease for the third quarter of 2026 was mainly due to $5.7 million in loans returning to current status, payoffs/paydowns of $0.7 million, and $0.5 million in loans which migrated to nonperforming, offset by $5.4 million in new delinquent loans.

As of September 30, 2026, the allowance for credit losses totaled $44.4 million and was comprised of an allowance for loan losses of $44.0 million and a reserve for unfunded loan commitments of $407,000 (included in “accrued interest and other liabilities”). This compares to the allowance for credit losses of $44.1 million, comprised of an allowance for loan losses of $43.7 million and a reserve for unfunded loan commitments of $407,000 at June 30, 2026. The $378,000 increase in the allowance for credit losses for the third quarter of 2026 was due to a provision for credit losses of $500,000 offset by net charge-offs of $122,000. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans HFI totaled 1.30% at September 30, 2026, compared to 1.32% at June 30, 2026. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of nonperforming loans HFI was 234% at September 30, 2026, up from 184% at June 30, 2026.

Shareholders' Equity

At September 30, 2026, total shareholders' equity was $534.2 million, a $934,000 decrease compared to June 30, 2026, and a $19.9 million increase compared to September 30, 2025. The decrease in shareholders' equity for the third quarter of 2026 was due mostly to an increase in unrealized losses on AFS securities, net of tax, of $6.8 million, common stock repurchases of $4.5 million and common stock cash dividends paid of $2.7 million, offset by net income of $12.6 million and stock-based compensation activity of $450,000.

Dividend Announcement

The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per common share. The dividend is payable on November 12, 2026 to shareholders of record on October 30, 2026.

Contact:

Lynn Hopkins, Chief Financial Officer

(213) 716-8066

lhopkins@rbbusa.com

Corporate Overview

RBB Bancorp is a community-based financial holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. As of September 30, 2026, the Company had total assets of $4.3 billion. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Royal Business Bank, is a full service commercial bank, which provides business banking products and services predominately to Asian-centric communities through 24 branches and one loan production office located in California, Nevada, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Hawaii. Bank products and services include commercial and investor real estate loans, business loans and lines of credit, commercial and industrial loans, SBA 7A and 504 loans, 1-4 single family residential loans, trade finance, wealth management and a full range of depository accounts, including specialized services such as remote deposit, E-banking, mobile banking and treasury management services. The Bank has nine branches in Los Angeles County, two branches in Ventura County, one branch in Orange County, and one loan production office in the San Francisco Bay area in California; one branch in Las Vegas, Nevada; three branches and one loan operations center in Brooklyn, three branches in Queens, and one branch in Manhattan in New York; one branch in Edison, New Jersey; two branches in Chicago, Illinois; and, one branch in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Company's administrative and lending center is located at 1055 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90017, and its operations center is located at 7025 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park, California 90621. The Company's website address is www.royalbusinessbankusa.com.

Conference Call

Management will hold a conference call at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time/2:00 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, to discuss the Company’s third quarter 2026 financial results.

To listen to the conference call, please dial 1-888-506-0062 or 1-973-528-0011, the Participant ID code is 889260, conference ID RBBQ326. A replay of the call will be made available at 1-877-481-4010 or 1-919-882-2331, the passcode is 54597, approximately one hour after the conclusion of the call and will remain available through November 3, 2026.

The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast over the Internet; please visit our Royal Business Bank website at www.royalbusinessbankusa.com and click on the “Investors” tab to access the call from the site. This webcast will be recorded and available for replay on our website approximately two hours after the conclusion of the conference call.

Disclosure

This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial disclosures, which the Company uses to provide meaningful supplemental information regarding the Company’s operational performance and to enhance investors’ overall understanding of such financial performance. Please refer to the tables at the end of this press release for a presentation of performance ratios in accordance with GAAP and a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the GAAP financial measures.

Safe Harbor

Certain matters set forth herein constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to the Company’s current business plans and expectations and our future financial position and operating results. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and/or achievements to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, business and economic conditions generally and in the financial services industry, nationally and within our current and future geographic markets, including ineffective management of the United States (“U.S.”) federal budget or debt or turbulence or uncertainty in domestic or foreign financial markets; the strength of the U.S. economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations; the impact of adverse developments in the banking industry, including bank failures and the potential impact of such developments on customer confidence, liquidity and regulatory responses to these developments; federal government shutdowns and uncertainty regarding the federal government’s debt limit; possible additional provisions for credit losses and charge-offs; credit risks of lending activities and deterioration in asset or credit quality; extensive laws and regulations and supervision that we are subject to, including potential supervisory action by bank supervisory authorities; compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and other money laundering statutes and regulations; potential goodwill impairment; liquidity risk; failure to comply with debt covenants; fluctuations in interest rates; risks associated with acquisitions and the expansion of our business into new markets; inflation and deflation; real estate market conditions and the value of real estate collateral; the effects of having concentrations in our loan portfolio, including commercial real estate and the risks of geographic and industry concentrations; environmental liabilities; our ability to compete with larger competitors; our ability to retain key personnel; successful management of reputational risk; severe weather, natural disasters, earthquakes, fires, or other adverse external events could harm our business; geopolitical conditions, including acts or threats of terrorism, actions taken by the U.S. or other governments in response to acts or threats of terrorism and/or military conflicts, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, and increasing tensions between China and Taiwan, which could impact business and economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad; tariffs, trade policies, and related tensions, which could impact our clients, specific industry sectors, and/or broader economic conditions and financial market; public health crises and pandemics, and their effects on the economic and business environments in which we operate, including our credit quality and business operations, as well as the impact on general economic and financial market conditions; general economic or business conditions in Asia, and other regions where the Bank has operations; failures, interruptions, or security breaches of our information systems; climate change, including any enhanced regulatory, compliance, credit and reputational risks and costs; cybersecurity threats and the cost of defending against them; our ability to adapt our systems to the expanding use of technology in banking; risk management processes and strategies; the impact of regulatory enforcement actions, if any; certain provisions in our charter and bylaws that may affect acquisition of the Company; changes in tax laws and regulations; the impact of governmental efforts to restructure the U.S. financial regulatory system and increased costs of compliance and other risks associated with changes in regulation, including any amendments to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; the impact of changes in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance assessment rate and the rules and regulations related to the calculation of the FDIC insurance assessments; the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices or accounting standards, as may be adopted from time-to-time by bank regulatory agencies, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) or other accounting standards setters; fluctuations in the Company’s stock price; restrictions on dividends and other distributions by laws and regulations and by our regulators and our capital structure; our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, and the potential resulting dilution of interests of holders of our common stock; the soundness of other financial institutions; our ongoing relations with our various federal and state regulators, including the SEC, FDIC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing items and all other factors set forth in the Company’s public reports, including its Annual Report as filed under Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and particularly the discussion of risk factors within that document. There can be no assurance that other factors not currently anticipated by us will not materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any statements about future operating results, such as those concerning accretion and dilution to the Company's earnings or shareholders, are for illustrative purposes only, are not forecasts, and actual results may differ. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which reflect management's analysis and expectations only as of the date of such statements. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements, except as required by law.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

Tangible Book Value Reconciliations

Tangible book value per share is a non-GAAP disclosure. Management measures tangible book value per share to assess the Company’s capital strength and business performance and believes this is helpful to investors as an additional tool for further understanding our performance. The following is a reconciliation of tangible book value to the Company shareholders’ equity computed in accordance with GAAP, as well as a calculation of tangible book value per share as of the dates indicated.

Return on Average Tangible Common Equity

Management measures return on average tangible common equity (“ROATCE”) to assess the Company’s capital strength and business performance and believes this is helpful to investors as an additional tool for further understanding our performance. Tangible equity excludes goodwill and other intangible assets (excluding mortgage servicing rights) and is reviewed by banking and financial institution regulators when assessing a financial institution’s capital adequacy. This non-GAAP financial measure should not be considered a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. The following table reconciles ROATCE to its most comparable GAAP measure:

Pre-Tax Pre-Provision Income

Management believes that pre-tax pre-provision (“PTPP”) income is a useful measure for investors to evaluate core operating performance, excluding the volatility of credit provision expenses. This non-GAAP financial measure should not be considered a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. PTPP income is calculated by subtracting noninterest expense from the sum of net interest income and noninterest income, as shown in the following table.