First Bank
- Open
- 17.84
- Day high
- 18.06
- Day low
- 17.45
- Prev close
- 17.86
- Volume
- 61K
- Mkt cap
- $442M
- P/E (TTM)
- 10.4
- EPS (TTM)
- $1.69
- P/B
- 1.0
- P/S
- 1.8
- Yield
- 1.70%
- Per share
- $0.30
First Bank (FRBA) is a Financial Services company listed on NASDAQ. The stock is up 13% over the past year.
First Bank (FRBA) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Analyst consensus · 2 analysts
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
FRBA earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2026 | $0.47 | $0.30 | -36.2% | $36M | -1.6% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | $0.49 | $0.49 | +0.0% | $40M | +7.6% |
| Oct 22, 2025 | $0.46 | $0.47 | +2.2% | $38M | +3.3% |
| Jul 22, 2025 | $0.43 | $0.41 | -4.7% | $37M | +3.2% |
| Apr 22, 2025 | $0.39 | $0.37 | -5.1% | $34M | +1.6% |
| Jan 23, 2025 | $0.39 | $0.42 | +7.7% | $34M | +3.2% |
| Oct 23, 2024 | $0.40 | $0.32 | -20.0% | $33M | +3.2% |
| Jul 24, 2024 | $0.40 | $0.44 | +10.0% | $31M | +1.3% |
| Jan 24, 2024 | $0.37 | $0.49 | +32.4% | $28M | -5.3% |
| Oct 25, 2023 | $0.23 | $0.42 | +82.6% | $29M | +2.6% |
| Jul 26, 2023 | $0.26 | $0.36 | +38.5% | $23M | -21.6% |
| Jan 25, 2023 | $0.54 | $0.46 | -14.8% | $25M | -5.6% |
First Bank company profile
Overview
First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) is a regional community bank founded in 2007 and headquartered in Hamilton, New Jersey. The bank went public in 2010 and operates 18 full-service branches across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. First Bank serves individuals, businesses, and governmental entities with traditional banking services while strategically expanding into specialized commercial lending niches and exploring Banking-as-a-Service opportunities to diversify revenue streams.
Business
First Bank operates as a traditional community bank in the regional banking sector, providing core banking services to customers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania markets. The bank's primary business revolves around the fundamental banking model of accepting deposits from customers and lending those funds to borrowers at higher interest rates. The bank's core services include deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. On the lending side, First Bank offers commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgages, home equity loans, and consumer loans. The bank also provides standard banking services like electronic banking, mobile banking, ATM access, wire transfers, and cash management services for business customers. First Bank has been strategically repositioning its loan portfolio composition. Commercial and industrial loans along with owner-occupied commercial real estate represent the bank's preferred lending focus, comprising approximately 64% of new loan originations in 2024. The bank has been deliberately reducing its concentration in investor commercial real estate loans, which declined from 55.6% to 53.2% of total loans. The bank is also expanding into specialized lending areas including asset-based lending, private equity fund banking, and small business lending to diversify revenue sources and reduce concentration risk. A new strategic initiative is the bank's Banking-as-a-Service platform, which launched in Q1 2025. This service allows fintech companies to offer banking services through First Bank's infrastructure, potentially generating fee income and attracting low-cost deposits while maintaining regulatory compliance.
Revenue model
First Bank generates revenue primarily through net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned on loans and investments and interest paid on deposits and borrowings. This traditional banking model depends on maintaining a positive net interest margin while managing credit risk and operational costs. The bank's customers include individual consumers seeking personal banking services, small and medium-sized businesses requiring commercial banking relationships, and governmental entities. Commercial relationships are particularly valuable as they often bring both lending opportunities and deposit relationships, creating multiple revenue streams from single customers. First Bank's profitability is influenced by several key factors. Interest rate environments significantly impact the bank's net interest margin - rising rates generally benefit the bank's asset yields faster than deposit costs increase, while falling rates can compress margins. The bank's deposit mix affects funding costs, with non-interest-bearing deposits being the most cost-effective funding source. Competition for deposits in the regional market can drive up deposit costs and pressure margins. Credit quality represents another critical factor, as loan losses directly impact profitability. The bank's focus on relationship-based lending and local market knowledge helps manage credit risk. Regulatory requirements, particularly around commercial real estate concentration limits, influence the bank's lending strategy and portfolio composition. The bank currently maintains investor commercial real estate at approximately 53% of total loans, working toward a target range of 300-400% of risk-based capital. Operational efficiency remains important for profitability, with First Bank maintaining an efficiency ratio below 60% for over 20 consecutive quarters. The bank's expansion into specialized lending niches and Banking-as-a-Service represents efforts to diversify revenue streams beyond traditional net interest income.
Competitive moat
First Bank operates in the highly competitive regional banking sector with limited structural moats. The bank's primary competitive advantages stem from its local market presence and relationship-based banking approach in New Jersey and Pennsylvania markets. Community banks like First Bank benefit from personal relationships with customers and local market knowledge that larger national banks may lack. The bank's 18-branch network provides physical presence and convenience for customers, though this advantage has diminished with the rise of digital banking. First Bank's focus on commercial and industrial lending relationships creates some customer stickiness, as businesses often prefer working with banks that understand their local markets and can provide personalized service. However, First Bank faces significant competitive pressures. Large national banks offer broader product suites, advanced technology platforms, and competitive pricing that can attract customers. Credit unions provide tax advantages that allow them to offer better rates on deposits and loans. Fintech companies are disrupting traditional banking services with innovative digital solutions. The bank's regulatory capital requirements and commercial real estate concentration limits constrain its lending flexibility compared to non-bank lenders. First Bank's relatively small size limits its ability to serve larger commercial customers or compete on pricing with bigger institutions. The bank's moat is relatively narrow and primarily dependent on maintaining strong local relationships and operational efficiency. The Banking-as-a-Service initiative represents an attempt to create new competitive advantages by leveraging regulatory infrastructure to serve fintech partners, though this market is becoming increasingly crowded with established players.
Risks & safety
First Bank maintains a relatively strong financial position with adequate capital levels and liquidity, though some metrics warrant attention. • **Capital and Solvency**: The bank maintains strong capital ratios with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68 and no immediate solvency concerns. Tangible common equity provides a solid buffer against potential losses. • **Liquidity Position**: Cash and short-term investments of $258 million provide substantial liquidity cushion. However, the bank experienced negative operating cash flow of $11.2 million in Q4 2024, primarily due to loan growth outpacing deposit growth. • **Asset Quality**: The bank maintains clean credit metrics with minimal non-performing assets and low provision expenses, indicating strong underwriting standards. • **Valuation Metrics**: Trading at 8.4x P/E ratio and 0.86x price-to-book ratio suggests reasonable valuation relative to earnings and book value. • **Profitability**: Return on assets of 1.15% and return on tangible common equity of 12.5% demonstrate solid profitability metrics for a regional bank. • **Interest Rate Risk**: The bank faces potential net interest margin pressure if interest rates decline rapidly, though management expects stable to improving margins based on deposit cost management.
Recent development
Over the past few years, First Bank has executed a strategic transformation focused on optimizing its balance sheet composition and diversifying revenue streams. The bank implemented "Project Sculpt" to create a more capital-efficient balance sheet by reducing investor commercial real estate concentrations and emphasizing commercial and industrial lending relationships. The bank completed the integration of Malvern Bank, achieving targeted cost savings while expanding its market presence. This acquisition provided additional scale and operational flexibility for strategic initiatives. First Bank has invested significantly in technology infrastructure, including launching online account opening platforms and implementing middleware technology to support digital banking capabilities. The bank opened new regional offices in Westchester, Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey to expand its commercial banking footprint. The most significant recent development is the launch of Banking-as-a-Service in Q1 2025, representing a new revenue stream targeting fintech partnerships. This initiative required substantial technology investments and regulatory compliance preparations, with management emphasizing a conservative approach focused on low-risk partnerships. The bank has also expanded into specialized lending niches including asset-based lending, private equity fund banking, and small business lending. These initiatives have shown strong performance, with asset-based lending exceeding internal goals and providing higher-margin lending opportunities. Throughout this period, First Bank has maintained disciplined expense management, keeping its efficiency ratio below 60% for over 20 consecutive quarters while investing in growth initiatives and technology improvements.
FRBA company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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