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BFST News
BFST Events
Business First Reports Q2 Credit Loss Provision of $2M
Reports Q2 provision for credit losses $2M. Reports Q2 net interest margin 3.73%. Reports Q2 book value per common share $28.79, tangible book value per common share $23.61. Loans held for investment decreased $24.8 million or 0.37%, 1.49% annualized, compared to the linked quarter. Deposits as of June 30, 2026 decreased $229.4 million or 3.07%, 12.33% annualized, compared to the linked quarter. "Our second-quarter results - marked by solid organic loan origination, margin expansion, growth in capital, and improving asset quality trends - are laying the foundation we expected for a strong second half of the year," said Jude Melville, Chairman, President, and CEO of Business First. "Meta's recently announced additional $40 billion investment in Northeast Louisiana, the expected full integration of our Progressive acquisition in August, and meaningful growth in our Houston-area pipeline - along with other positive developments across our markets - give our team significant opportunities to build on as we execute on our growth plans."
Business First Bancshares Acquires American Planning
Business First Bancshares announced the acquisition of American Planning, a financial consulting firm serving community banks since 1972. CEO T. Jefferson Fair and his team will join Smith Shellnut Wilson, a b1BANK subsidiary, expanding SSW's advisory platform to serve SSW and b1 Financial Services Group clients nationwide.
b1BANK Reports Q1 Tangible Book Value of $23.18
Reports Q1 tangible book value per share $23.18. Reports Q1 net charge-offs .01%. "It was a busy and productive start of the year for b1BANK," said Jude Melville, chairman, president, and CEO of Business First. "Quantitatively, we continued generating consistent profitability, increased our capital ratios and strengthened our liquidity positioning. Qualitatively, we added a large number of strong teammates through consummation of the Progressive Bank acquisition, the addition of a number of seasoned, respected bankers in Houston, and our partnership with Covecta, with whom we are working on building out Agentic AI capabilities. I'm also proud of our team's self-managed subordinated-debt issuance through our network of community bank partners. All these deepening partnerships bode well for the continued building of shareholder value over the course of 2026."
Business First Reports Q4 Credit Loss Provision of $3.1M
Reports Q4 provision for credit losses $3.1M. Reports Q4 net charge-offs $6.8M. Reports Q4 net interest margin 3.71%. Reports Q4 book value per common share $27.95, tangible book value per common share $23.36. Loans held for investment increased $168.4M, or 2.80%. Deposits increased $191.7M, or 2.95%. "In the fourth quarter we continued to demonstrate increasing core profitability and tangible book value build as the logic of the investments we've made over the past few quarters becomes reality through our team's successful performance," said Jude Melville, chairman and CEO of Business First.
Business First Bancshares Completes Acquisition of Progressive Bancorp
Business First Bancshares announced the completion of its previously announced acquisition of Progressive Bancorp and its wholly-owned bank subsidiary, Progressive Bank. The acquisition increases Business First's total assets to approximately $8.7 billion with more than $6.6 billion in total loans and $7.2 billion in deposits, and expands b1BANK's presence across Louisiana, including nine additional North Louisiana locations. As of September 30, 2025, Progressive reported total assets of $752 million, deposits of $669 million and total equity capital of $70 million. Upon completion of the transaction, George Cummings III, Progressive's chairman and CEO, joined both the b1BANK and Business First Bancshares, Inc. boards of directors. David Hampton, Progressive's president, joined b1BANK as vice chairman of the North Louisiana market. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Progressive shareholders received shares of Business First common stock and cash in lieu of fractional shares as merger consideration. Additional information regarding the transaction is available in prior disclosures filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
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