A 'Top 200 Community Bank' in the U.S. for the thirteenth consecutive year

KILMARNOCK, VA / ACCESSWIRE / January 26, 2021 / On behalf of Chesapeake Financial Shares, Inc. (parent company of both Chesapeake Bank and Chesapeake Wealth Management), Jeffrey M. Szyperski, Chairman of the Board and CEO, reported record earnings for calendar year 2020 of $11,749,391 representing a 3.1% increase over 2019 earnings. The reported earnings per share were $2.395 fully diluted as compared to $2.292 in 2019. 'Due to COVID, 2020 was challenging and thanks to the resiliency of both our employees as well as our customers we had a very successful year,' said Szyperski.

'We have worked diligently over the last 25+ years to diversify our revenue stream and this is reflected in our earnings. A strong mortgage market as well as record-breaking asset growth were the primary contributors to the record-breaking year. Of the roughly $3 million in Paycheck Protection Program fees earned, only $770,000 were recognized into income in 2020. In addition to our strong earnings, American Banker named us one of the ‘Top 200 Community Banks' in the United States for the thirteenth consecutive year and one of the ‘Best Banks to Work For' for the eighth consecutive year,' commented Szyperski.

At the January 22, 2021 Chesapeake Financial Shares Board of Directors meeting, the Board increased the quarterly dividend to $0.130 per share effective March 1, 2021, payable on or before March 15, 2021. Currently, the stock has a 2.23% dividend yield.

'Chesapeake Financial Shares ended the year December 31, 2020 with total assets of $1,207,714,231, a 26.0% increase over year-end 2019. This large increase was largely fueled by economic stimulus and Paycheck Protection Program funds as part of the CARES Act,' Szyperski stated. 'We strengthened our loan loss reserve in 2020, and it represented 1.34% of total loans (excluding PPP) at December 31, 2020. Nonperforming assets were 1.034% as of December 31, 2020 compared to 0.881% at December 31, 2019 representing a 17.4% increase. Given the level of economic disruption in 2020, we feel thankful for being able to maintain such strong asset quality,' Szyperski noted.

For more information about Chesapeake Financial Shares stock (CPKF), or to receive daily e-mail alerts of our stock price, see www.chesapeakefinancialshares.com. The company is followed by Zacks Investment Research, and a copy of their report can also be found on this site or at www.zacks.com. Chesapeake Financial Shares is an over-the-counter, publicly traded stock. 'Like' Chesapeake Bank on Facebook and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Contact:

Jeffrey M. Szyperski
804-435-4248
1-800-424-1181

SOURCE: Chesapeake Financial Shares, Inc.