Access National Increases Dividend, Reports Second Quarter Earnings

Access National Corporation (NASDAQ: ANCX), parent company for Access National Bank (Bank), reported second quarter 2014 net income of $3.1 million, or $0.29 per common share. This represents the Corporation’s 56th consecutive quarterly profit over its 58 quarter history. Consistent with management’s stated objective of a 40%-50% payout ratio against core earnings, the Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.13 per share for holders of record as of August 4, 2014 and payable on August 25, 2014. The increase in routine dividend reflects Management’s favorable performance outlook and comfort with a favorable capital position.

Overall, second quarter 2014 pretax earnings fell when compared to second quarter 2013 pretax earnings by $781 thousand due to a decrease in mortgage segment pretax earnings of $1.3 million. Positively offsetting the reduction in mortgage segment pretax earnings was an increase in the banking segment pretax earnings of 11.3% or $477 thousand during the second quarter of 2014 in comparison to the second quarter of 2013. Pretax earnings were also positively impacted by a $62 thousand reduction in pretax loss of the Wealth Management Segment for the second quarter of 2014 when compared to the second quarter of 2013.

Net interest margin for the first six months of 2014 decreased from 3.81% to 3.79% when compared to the same period in 2013. On a linked quarter basis, the margin increased slightly to 3.80% for the three months ended June 30, 2014 compared to 3.78% for the three months ended March 30, 2014.

On a consolidated basis, the Corporation reported annualized return on average assets of 1.30% and 1.20% for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2014, respectively. Meanwhile, the annualized return on average equity was 12.93% and 11.69% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014, respectively.

Total assets at June 30, 2014 amounted to $999.2 million compared to $847.2 million at December 31, 2013, an overall increase of $152.0 million. An increase in loans held for investment of $53.0 million, a $20.8 million increase in interest-bearing balances, a $33.8 million growth in investment securities, a growth in loans held for sale of $26.6 million, and a $17.4 million increase in other assets due to a $15 million BOLI purchase accounted for the majority of this increase. The second quarter of 2014 reflected loan growth in all categories of the loans held for investment portfolio with the exception of commercial real estate – owner occupied which experienced a slight decrease. Overall, the portfolio of loans held for investment grew at an annualized rate of 15.45% with commercial loans increasing by the largest dollar amount.

Total deposits at June 30, 2014 increased $218.8 million from December 31, 2013 due mainly to an increase in demand deposits of $81.3 million, an increase in interest-bearing demand deposits of $34.4 million, and an increase in Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) deposits totaling $108.0 million. The deliberate increase in CDARS during the most recent period was to partially offset the increase in securities, the increase in loans held for sale from December 31, 2013, and reduce short-term borrowings. Management continues to focus on expanding business banking relationships as evidenced by the 42.82% year-to-date growth in demand deposits.

Non-performing assets (NPAs) decreased 26.2% to $1.9 million at June 30, 2014, from $2.5 million at December 31, 2013, representing 0.19% and 0.30% of total assets, respectively. The Corporation did not have other real estate owned at June 30, 2014. The allowance for loan losses remained at $13.2 million or 1.78% and 1.91% of total loans held for investment as of June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively.

Book value per common share increased from $8.79 at December 31, 2013 to $9.22 at June 30, 2014. The ratio of total equity to total assets for Access National Corporation and its subsidiary bank was 9.6% at June 30, 2014, within the Corporation’s target range of 8.00% to 10.50%.

Access National Corporation is the parent company of Access National Bank, an independent, nationally chartered bank serving the business community of the greater Washington DC Metropolitan area. Additional information is available on our website at www.AccessNationalBank.com. Shares of Access National Corporation are traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "ANCX".

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements may be identified as “may”, “could”, “expect”, “believe”, anticipate”, “intend”, “plan” or variations thereof. These forward-looking statements may contain information related to those matters such as the Company’s intent, belief, or expectation with respect to matters such as financial performance. Such statements are necessarily based on assumptions and estimates and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties concerning the Company’s operations and business environment, which are difficult to predict and beyond control of the Company. Such risks and uncertainties could cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those matters expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. For an explanation of certain risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other SEC filings.