Evans Bancorp Reports 176% Increase in Net Income for the Fourth Quarter of 2011 and Record Results for the Year

Evans Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company” or "Evans”) (NYSE Amex: EVBN), a community financial services company serving Western New York since 1920, today reported its results of operations for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2011 FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR-END

• Net income for the quarter increased $0.9 million, or 176.4%, to $1.3 million, or $0.33 per diluted share compared with $0.5 million, or $0.12 per diluted share in 2010.
• Record results achieved in 2011 with net income of $6.1 million, or $1.49 per diluted share
• Return on average equity improved to 9.17% in 2011 compared with 8.35% in 2010
• Core loans (defined as total loans and leases less direct financing leases) increased 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2011, or 11.8% annualized, to $577.4 million
• Core deposits grew in the fourth quarter with Demand, NOW, and Savings deposits gaining 3.4%, or an annualized growth rate of 13.7%
• Capital position remains strong with Total Risk-Based Capital ratio of 14.03% at December 31, 2011

Net income grew to $1.3 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with net income of $0.5 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2010. The improvement in net income reflected a combination of higher net interest income and lower provision for loan and lease losses. Growth in net-interest income resulted from a stabilized margin combined with expanded interest earning assets, while the $0.6 million reduction in the provision for loan and lease losses to $0.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, was driven by improvements in the Company’s declining leasing portfolio. Due to improving credit quality trends in the leasing portfolio, the Company released $0.2 million in provision in the 2011 fourth quarter, whereas for the prior-year period, $0.4 million in provision was recorded. The return on average equity expanded to 7.77% for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with 3.00% in the fourth quarter of 2010.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, Evans recorded net income of $6.1 million, or $1.49 per diluted share, compared with net income of $4.8 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, in 2010. The significant increase in net income was largely the result of higher net interest income due to a larger core loan base, and a lower provision for loan and lease losses driven by reduced lease balances. The return on average equity was 9.17% for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2011, compared with 8.35% in 2010.

David J. Nasca, President and CEO of Evans Bancorp stated, "We believe our record performance this year was the result of an effective strategy and the ability of our team to execute the plan despite the challenges of a slow economic recovery. As demonstrated by solid growth within our core loan and deposit portfolios, Evans’ community banking approach combined with a comprehensive suite of products and services has been well accepted and reflects a growing number of customers entrusting us with their complete banking relationship.”

Net Interest Income

Net interest income was $6.9 million during the fourth quarter of 2011, up 13.2% from the prior-year period, and up 5.8% from the linked third quarter of 2011. Included in the improvement was a $0.2 million adjustment in interest income from the recovery of a previously marked down commercial loan acquired in the Waterford acquisition in 2009. Excluding this adjustment, net interest income increased $0.6 million, or 10.2%, from prior year’s fourth quarter and $0.2 million, or 2.9%, from the linked third quarter, as a result of higher interest earning assets offset by net interest margin contraction. Core loans, which are defined as total loans and leases less direct financing leases, were $577.4 million at December 31, 2011, an increase of 12.7% from $512.5 million at December 31, 2010, and up 3.0% (11.8% annualized) from $560.8 million at September 30, 2011. The majority of the loan growth for the year was in the commercial/industrial and commercial mortgage loan portfolios. Commercial mortgage growth was the main driver in the fourth quarter increasing by $15.3 million, or 4.8%.

Investment securities were $107.0 million at December 31, 2011, up 9.9% from $97.4 million at the end of the third quarter of 2011, and up 14.7% from $93.3 million at the end of fourth quarter of 2010. The growth in the investment securities portfolio reflects the success of the Company in attracting core deposits in excess of the growth rate of loans for both the year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011. The Company’s growth in the investment portfolio was concentrated in mortgage-backed securities. The Company purchased only agency mortgage-backed securities which are rated AAA. With long-term rates at historic lows, mortgage-backed securities allow the Company to receive cash flows over the life of the bond and re-invest those cash flows into loans when deposit growth slows.

Total deposits were $616.2 million at December 31, 2011, up 13.2%, or $71.7 million, from $544.5 million at December 31, 2010, and up 0.5%, or $3.0 million compared with $613.2 million at September 30, 2011. Growth for the quarter and year-over-year period was attributable to strong core deposit increases across a variety of products, including the Company’s Better Checking product (included in the NOW category) along with its corresponding Better Savings product. These products have been successful in garnering new customers, rewarding existing customers for doing more business with the Bank, and ultimately developing deeper customer relationships. The Company also experienced an increase in demand deposits. The majority of the $20.0 million, or 20.4%, increase in demand deposits over the prior-year fourth quarter was from commercial customers. The Company has focused on growing commercial deposits as part of its overall growth strategy. Although a portion of deposit growth can be seasonal and reflective of transaction activity, the results reflect solid growth in a very competitive marketplace. Partially offsetting those gains was a decrease in time deposits due to the roll-off of higher rate promotional CD’s and decreased brokered time deposits.

Although the Bank experienced net interest margin compression throughout 2011 due to declining interest rates, it remained relatively strong at 4.03% for the fourth quarter of 2011. Adjusting for the loan recovery previously noted, net interest margin for the fourth quarter would have been 3.92%. Net interest margin was 3.97% in the 2011 third quarter and 4.00% in the 2010 fourth quarter. As the low interest rate cycle matures, the Company’s loan and investment portfolios continue to re-price into lower yields as evidenced by a decline in yield on interest-earning assets (after adjusting for the one-time interest income adjustment) of 9 basis points from the linked quarter to 4.88% and a decline of 28 basis points from the fourth quarter 2010. The Company benefited from re-pricing its interest-bearing liabilities much earlier in the interest rate cycle, and these rates have fallen less than its interest-earning assets in 2011. Correspondingly, the cost of interest-bearing liabilities for the Company declined 7 basis points in the fourth-quarter 2011 from the third-quarter 2011 and decreased 23 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2010. Additionally, the Company has been successful in attracting new customers, with most of that success coming in the premium-rate Better Checking and Better Savings products. While these products have put some short-term pressure on the net interest margin, the Company expects to benefit in the long term from the deeper relationships that these products provide.

Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses and Asset Quality

Provision: The provision for loan and lease losses was $0.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase from a $0.2 million provision in the third quarter of 2011, but down from the $1.4 million provision in the fourth quarter of 2010. The majority of the provision in the quarter was related to deterioration and reassessment of previously identified non-performing loans and providing provision for growth. Additionally, the provision benefitted from the release of $0.2 million related to the continued improvement in the shrinking leasing portfolio’s charge-off and collection performance. When compared with the fourth quarter of 2010, the reduction in the provision was due mostly to the $0.6 million change in the provision for leases.

As a result of the increase in provision during the fourth quarter of 2011, the ratio for the allowance for loan and lease losses to total loans and leases ratio increased to 1.97% at December 31, 2011, compared with 1.88% at September 30, 2011, and remained flat from December 31, 2010.

Net charge-offs: Net charge-offs to average total loans and leases was 0.03% in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with 0.09% in the third quarter of 2011, and 0.06% in the fourth quarter of 2010. The charge-off percentage remains under industry norms and is indicative of the Bank’s historical focus on well-collateralized credits. Management continues to maintain a conservative approach in reserving for potential losses in this environment of extended economic volatility.

Non-performing loans and leases: At December 31, 2011 the ratio of non-performing loans to total loans remained relatively flat at 2.40% compared with 2.42% at September 30, 2011 and increased from 2.08% at December 31, 2010. The increase in the ratio from the prior year fourth quarter was due to the commercial real estate portfolio, where five commercial real estate loan relationships were placed on non-accrual in 2011 which totaled $2.3 million. The largest relationship was $0.8 million. The decrease in total non-performing loans and leases to 2.60% at December 31, 2011 from 2.70% and 2.64% at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively, was due to a reduction in non-performing leases which is a reflection of the improving quality of the remaining balances as the portfolio winds down. The total coverage ratio for non-performing loans and leases was 75.74% at December 31, 2011 compared with 74.85% at December 31, 2010.

The FDIC assisted acquisition of Waterford Bank in July of 2009 accounts for $2.5 million of the Company’s $15.2 million in non-performing loans. These loans are part of a loss-sharing agreement with the FDIC in which the FDIC bears at least 80% of the losses on these loans. If the leasing portfolio mark, established in 2009 to recognize a mark-to-market difference between the lease principal value and the book value, of $0.5 million is included and the partially FDIC-guaranteed Waterford loans are excluded, the Company’s coverage ratio for non-performing loans and leases would have been 93.9% at December 31, 2011.

Gary Kajtoch, Executive Vice President and CFO of Evans Bank noted, "We continue to carefully evaluate our risks in a somewhat uncertain market and will remain consistent with our conservative underwriting standards, as we grow our loan portfolio, to minimize our risk exposure. Our emphasis on proactively monitoring our loan relationships has reduced potential exposure to any losses.”

Non-Interest Income

Non-interest income, which represented 29.3% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011, increased slightly to $2.9 million compared with $2.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. The increase was attributable to higher service charges and insurance agency revenue. Service charges on deposits increased $47 thousand, or 10.8%, compared with the fourth quarter 2010, primarily due to increased volume of activity. Insurance agency revenue of $1.4 million was up $22 thousand, or 1.6%, when compared with the 2010 fourth quarter. The soft insurance market and macro-economic conditions however, continue to put downward pressure on personal and commercial property and casualty insurance commissions. Compared with the trailing third quarter of 2011, The Evans Agency’s revenue was $0.5 million lower due to seasonality.

Non-Interest Expense

Total non-interest expense was $7.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of $0.4 million, or 6.2%, from $6.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Other expenses increased $0.3 million primarily due to loan expenses related to commercial loan activity. Salaries and employee benefits increased $0.2 million to $3.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with the prior-year period reflecting regular merit increases and increased staff, including commercial loan officers and other business-generating positions. These increases were partially offset by lower amortization expense related to intangible assets acquired in the 2008 purchase of Suchak Data Systems, Inc., which were fully amortized at the end of 2010 and a reduction in FDIC insurance expense due to changes in the premium calculation adopted in the second quarter of 2011 by the FDIC.

The efficiency ratio, excluding goodwill impairment and intangible amortization, decreased slightly to 71.35% for the fourth quarter of 2011, from 72.23% in the fourth quarter 2010, as a result an increase in net interest income off-set by an increase in net interest income. The Company’s efficiency ratio for the third quarter of 2011 was 69.10% which was reflective of seasonal non-interest income revenue from the insurance agency.

The effective tax rate for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 was 27.8% compared with an effective tax rate of 42.9% in the fourth quarter of 2010. The higher effective tax rate for the prior year’s fourth quarter reflected adjustments related to the wind down of the leasing portfolio requiring an increase in the state income tax valuation allowance. The current quarter’s effective tax rate is more indicative of a normalized rate.

2011 Year in Review

Net interest income for 2011 was $26.0 million, an increase of $1.5 million, or 6.1%, over 2010, primarily due to strong growth in the Company’s commercial loan portfolio. Although still historically strong, the falling interest rate environment has resulted in a compression of the net interest margin to 3.99% in 2011 from 4.16% in 2010.

The Company’s provision for loan and lease losses decreased from $3.9 million in 2010 to $2.5 million in 2011. The year-over-year improvement was mainly attributable to improved credit quality trends within the leasing portfolio resulting in lower provision levels during 2011.

Non-interest income was $12.4 million for 2011, down $0.2 million from 2010. Negatively impacting non-interest income was lower bank service charges of $0.1 million primarily due to Regulation E rules pertaining to overdraft fees, and insurance revenue, which decreased $0.1 million to $6.9 million as the insurance business continues to experience a soft market.

Non-interest expense increased $1.1 million, or 4.3%, to $27.2 million in 2011. The increase reflects higher salaries and employee benefits of $1.0 million due to normal merit increases and the addition of new employees as part of the Company’s planned growth strategy. Also contributing to the increase were professional services expenses related to the workout of criticized loans, occupancy expenses as the Company continues to upgrade its infrastructure, and the other expense line which was due mostly to increased loan activity. Those increases were partially offset by lower amortization expense related to intangible assets acquired in the 2008 purchase of Suchak Data Systems, Inc., and a reduction in FDIC insurance expense.

Capital Management

The Company consistently maintains regulatory capital ratios measurably above the federal "well capitalized” standard, including a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 9.71% at December 31, 2011. Book value per share improved to $16.72 at December 31, 2011, compared with $16.61 at September 30, 2011, and $15.45 at December 31, 2010. Tangible book value per share at the end of the 2011 fourth quarter was $14.60, up 1.1% from the end of the 2011 third quarter and up 10.8% from the same period in 2010.

Outlook

Mr. Nasca concluded, "Overall, we believe that the success of our business model and our focus on delivering a superior customer experience puts us in a strong competitive position as we head into 2012. Meeting current customer’s needs and winning new customers, will allow us to continue to grow our market share in Western New York, while taking advantage of the disruption resulting from the departure of HSBC’s retail operation. Construction on the Bank’s 14^th branch is currently scheduled to begin in the first half of 2012 as part of the existing plan to fill out our footprint to be more accessible. The coming year portends to continue the challenges faced over the last two years.”

About Evans Bancorp, Inc.

Evans Bancorp, Inc. is a financial holding company and the parent company of Evans Bank, N.A., a commercial bank with $741 million in assets, 13 branches and $616 million in deposits at December 31, 2011. Evans is a full-service community bank providing comprehensive financial services to consumer, business and municipal customers throughout Western New York. Evans Bancorp's wholly-owned insurance subsidiary, The Evans Agency, LLC., provides property and casualty insurance through 14 insurance offices in the Western New York region. Evans Investment Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Evans Bank, provides non-deposit investment products such as annuities and mutual funds.

Evans Bancorp, Inc. and Evans Bank routinely post news and other important information on their websites, at www.evansbancorp.com and www.evansbank.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning future business, revenue and earnings. These statements are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance, events or results. There are risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of Evans Bancorp to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements, include competitive pressures among financial services companies, interest rate trends, general economic conditions, changes in legislation or regulatory requirements, effectiveness at achieving stated goals and strategies, and difficulties in achieving operating efficiencies. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in Evans Bancorp’s Annual and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Evans Bancorp undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new, updated information, future events or otherwise.