 NORWICH, N.Y., July 27, 2020 GLOBE NEWSWIRE -- NBT Bancorp Inc. NBT or the Company NASDAQ: NBTB reported net income and diluted earnings per share for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2020. Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was 24.7 million, or 0.56 per diluted common share. Net income was up 14.3 million from the previous quarter primarily due to lower loan loss provision and lower noninterest expense and down 5.8 million from the second quarter of 2019 primarily due to higher provision for loan losses related to the deterioration of economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Excluding real estate repositioning charges of 0.7 million, net income and earnings per diluted share were 25.2 million and 0.57, respectively.Pre-provision net revenue PPNR1 for the second quarter of 2020 was 50.7 million compared to 44.9 million in the previous quarter and 47.2 million in the second quarter of 2019 reflecting higher net interest income and lower noninterest expense than the previous quarter.CEO CommentsNBT was able to grow pre-provision net revenue. Asset quality remained stable during this extraordinary quarter despite the significant challenges presented by the pandemic. Our team has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to provide superior service to our customers and participate in initiatives to support our communities during these difficult times, said NBT President and CEO, John H. Watt, Jr. Notable during the quarter was our participation in the SBAs Paycheck Protection Program to secure approval for approximately 3,000 loans and 547 million in relief to help retain more than 61,000 jobs at businesses and organizations in communities we serve. NBTs disciplined approach to risk management and credit practices, strong and recently enhanced capital position and liquidity continue to provide a strong foundation that will help us to meet the current challenges and to be opportunistic building our franchise.Second Quarter Financial HighlightsNet Income Net income of 24.7 million Diluted earnings per share of 0.56 Net Interest Income NIM Net interest income on a fully taxable equivalent basis was 80.8 million1 Net interest margin NIM on a fully taxable equivalent basis was 3.381 PPNR PPNR1 was 50.7 million compared to 44.9 million in the first quarter of 2020 and 47.2 million in the second quarter 2019 Loans and Credit Quality Period end loans were 7.6 billion, up 13.9, annualized, from December 31, 2019 Excluding Paycheck Protection Plan PPP loans of 510 million at June 30, 2020, period end loans contracted 130 million or 2 from March 31, 2020 Originated 547 million in PPP loans Allowance for loan losses to total loans of 1.49 1.59 excluding PPP loans and related allowance Net charge-offs to average loans was 0.28, annualized 0.30 excluding PPP loans Nonperforming assets to total assets was 0.27 0.28 excluding PPP loans Capital Completed public offering of 100 million 5.00 fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes Tangible book value per share3 grew 3 for the quarter and 8 from prior year to 19.46 at June 30, 2020 Tangible equity to assets of 8.041 CET1 ratio of 11.34; Total leverage ratio of 9.44 Loans Period end total loans were 7.6 billion at June 30, 2020, compared to 7.1 billion at December 31, 2019. Total PPP loans as of June 30, 2020 were 510 million net of unamortized fees; originated 547 million with an average loan size of 185,000 and an average fee of 3.2. Excluding PPP loans, period end loans decreased 130 million from March 31, 2020. Commercial and industrial loans decreased 19.8 million to 1.3 billion; commercial real estate loans increased 14.4 million to 2.3 billion; and total consumer loans decreased 124.1 million to 3.5 billion, driven by managed run-off of indirect auto loans. Commercial line of credit utilization rate was 26 at June 30, 2020 compared to 32 at March 31, 2020 and 36 at June 30, 2019.Deposits Average total deposits in the second quarter of 2020 were 8.6 billion, compared to 7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to increases in non-interest bearing demand and money market deposit accounts. Loan to deposit ratio of 86.5 at June 30, 2020, compared to 94.0 at December 31, 2019.Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin Net interest income for the second quarter of 2020 was 80.4 million, up 3.3 million from 77.2 million the first quarter of 2020 and up 1.8 million from 78.6 million for the second quarter of 2019. The net interest margin on a fully taxable equivalent FTE basis for the second quarter of 2020 was 3.38, down 14 basis points bps from the first quarter of 2020 and down 23 bps from the second quarter of 2019. The net impact of PPP loans and excess liquidity, both of which the Company expects to be transitory, negatively impacted the NIM by 7 bps. Excluding the impact of PPP lending and excess liquidity, NIM declined 7 bps from the prior quarter primarily due to the impact of asset repricing, partly offset by lower funding costs. Earning asset yields for the three months ended June 30, 2020 were down 39 bps from the prior quarter and down 60 bps from the same quarter in the prior year. Earning assets grew 742.8 million or 8.4 from the prior quarter and grew 823.4 million or 9.4 from the same quarter in the prior year. Excess liquidity resulted in a 306 million increase in the average balances of short-term interest bearing accounts with yields declining 118 bps to 0.10. Yields on investment securities declined 9 bps. Loan yields decreased 32 bps to 4.10. Total cost of total deposits was 0.23 for the second quarter of 2020, down 25 bps from the prior quarter and down 32 bps from the same period in the prior year. The cost of interest-bearing liabilities for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was 0.45, down 37 bps from the prior quarter of 0.82 and down 51 bps from the second quarter of 2019 of 0.96. Cost of interest-bearing deposits decreased 35 bps from the prior quarter and decreased 44 bps from the same quarter in 2019.Credit Quality and CECL Asset quality metrics remained stable in the second quarter of 2020. Net charge-offs to total average loans of 28 bps 30 bps excluding PPP loans compared to 32 bps in the prior quarter and 38 bps in the second quarter of 2019. Nonperforming assets to total assets was 0.27 0.28 excluding PPP loans compared to 0.35 at March 31, 2020 and 0.30 at June 30, 2019. Provision expense for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was 18.8 million as the economic deterioration due to COVID-19 and the related impact to expected losses continued in the second quarter while net charge-offs of 5.3 million were relatively consistent with the prior quarter. Provision expense decreased 10.8 million from the first quarter of 2020 and increased 11.6 million from the second quarter of 2019. The allowance for loan losses was 113.5 million or 1.49 1.59 excluding PPP loans and related allowance of total loans compared to 1.38 at March 31, 2020 and 1.04 June 30, 2019. As of July 23, 2020, 8.7 of loans excluding PPP loans are in payment deferral programs which is down from the second quarter 2020 peak of 14.9. The reserve for unfunded loan commitments decreased 0.2 million to 5.4 million at June 30, 2020 as the increase in the allowance due to the deterioration in the economic forecast was offset by a decrease in the level of unfunded commitments.Noninterest Income Total noninterest income, excluding securities gains losses, was 34.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, down 1.4 million from the prior quarter and up 0.5 million from the prior year quarter. Service charges on deposit accounts were lower than both prior quarter and the second quarter of 2019 due to lower overdraft charges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Retirement plan administration fees were higher than both prior quarter and the second quarter of 2019 due to the April 1, 2020 acquisition of Alliance Benefit Group of Illinois, Inc. ABG contributing 1.8 million in revenues during the quarter. Wealth management fees were down 0.5 million due to market conditions, partly offset by 0.3 million in ABG fees during the quarter. Insurance revenues were down compared to the prior quarter due to seasonally higher insurance revenues in the first quarter. The increase in other noninterest income from the prior year second quarter was driven by higher swap fees.Noninterest Expense Total noninterest expense for the second quarter of 2020 was down 7.8 from the previous quarter and down 1.3 from the second quarter of 2019. Significant variances to the prior quarter: Salaries and benefits declined due to decreased medical expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic 1.1 million and lower stock-based compensation expenses 1.0 million, partly offset by increased salaries due to the ABG acquisition 0.9 million. Occupancy expense was 0.9 million lower due to seasonal maintenance in the prior quarter and lower expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic due to limited on-site personnel. Professional fees and outside services were down 0.5 million primarily due to the timing of expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. FDIC expense was higher as the remaining portion of the FDIC insurance assessment small bank credit was used in the first quarter of 2020. Other noninterest expense was lower in the second quarter of 2020 due primarily to a 2.0 million expense in the first quarter for the allowance for unfunded loan commitments, along with lower travel and training expenses during the pandemic. The Company recorded a 0. 