First National Bank of Ipswich reports fourth-quarter profit
After losing $1.2 million through the first three quarters of 2006, First National Bank of Ipswich finally turned a profit at the year's end. The community bank made $302,000 in the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, compared with a $329,000 loss for the same period last year.
The tidy profit means the bank's shareholders earned 14 cents per share for the quarter; last year they lost 15 cents per share.
The improved earnings came at a price, however.
First National sold its trust department and Cambridge branch, closed five ATM kiosks, and an operations center in Essex. The cost-cutting came after federal banking regulators last June put First National on a supervisory plan to improve bottom-line performance. Employment at the bank, which has nine branches in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, fell to 108 from 130 last year.
"We got a wake-up call," said Russ Cole, the bank's chief executive officer, appointed last June. "We needed to get a handle on our expenses, and more important, develop a strategic plan.... What we've done is right-size the bank."
Total assets shrank to $332.8 million last year, from $394.4 million at the end of 2005, the bank reported.
Going forward, the bank plans to keep a close eye on expenses to remain profitable. "We think by continuing to reduce expenses and our overhead structure, we can continue to deliver profits," Cole said.
Williams heads small-loan agency
Rick Williams, a Malden developer, is the new chairman of the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Corp., a state financing authority that provides credit and capital to small businesses. He is the president and founder of The Equity Co., a real estate development and consulting firm.
"Small business development is ultimately the key to a successful, sustainable economy," Williams said in a prepared statement, adding that he wants to position the authority "to continue to expand its assistance programs."
The finance corporation provides lines of credit from $100,000 to $500,000, capital equipment loans for up to five years, and letters of credit for contractors, among other services.
Williams is the president and founder of The Malden-based Equity Co., a real estate development and consulting firm that has built condominium and town house projects in Greater Boston.
Williams is a former management consultant with Arthur D. Little in Cambridge. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School's Program for Management Development and Fundamentals of Corporate Finance.
Chambers get tourism grants
Chambers of commerce in Gloucester, Rockport, and Salisbury were among 14 nonprofit organizations to share $45,000 worth of state tourism grants from the North of Boston Conventional & Visitors Bureau in Peabody.
Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray awarded the grants at a breakfast at the Gloucester House Restaurant. The regional council sets aside a portion of its state funding every year to reinvest in local communities. Most grants are used to fund promotional brochures and tourism guides to boost the region's visitor industry.
"We want to be a strong partner for local communities," said Julie McConchie, executive director of the tourism council. "We want to help point tourists in their directions."
First-time grant recipients this year include Gloucester Stage Co., SeaArts of Gloucester, and the Society for Lighthouse Preservation in Newburyport. Gloucester Stage plans to double the number of brochures it prints. SeaArts will produce a cultural tourism map. The Lighthouse Preservation Society will produce a guide to the state's lighthouses.
Boot camp scholarships
The Women's Business Center in Portsmouth is offering scholarships to a "boot camp" for entrepreneurs next month at the School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester.
The two-day course, to be held March 29-30, will cover marketing, capital, management, and problem-solving.
Guest speakers include Gary Hirshberg, chief executive of Stonyfield Farm yogurt.
The Women's Business Center is partnering with the New Hampshire Women's Fund to pay the $200 tuition fee for women entrepreneurs from the Granite State.
The deadline to apply is March 1. Call 603-430-2892.
Kathy McCabe may be reached at kmccabe@globe.com. 
