The Carr Fire has torched more than 100,000 acres as of Tuesday, fire authorities said. Photo by Jason Knight, EPA-EFE

The Carr Fire has torched more than 100,000 acres as of Tuesday, fire authorities said. Photo by Jason Knight, EPA-EFE

A handout photo made available by Cal Fire of the aftermath in one neighborhood of the Carr Fire as it moved into the area west of Redding, Calif. Photo by EPA-EFE/Jason Knight

The Carr Fire in Shasta County, Calif., has torched more than 100,000 acres so far and killed six people, authorities said. Photo courtesy Cal Fire Shasta County

July 31 (UPI) -- Fires raging across California have killed at least eight people, stretching the state's funds and resources thin as firefighters try to gain control.

About a quarter of the state's emergency funding as already been spent, just one month into a new fiscal year.

Fire crews as far away as the East Coast are coming to help battle 17 large wildfires, which already have 12,000 firefighters on the lines.

Cal Fire said the fires, which have burned about almost 240,000 acres, have destroyed more than 1,000 structures and are threatening 25,000 homes. More than 52,000 residents have been evacuated.

One of the largest fires is the Carr Fire, which has killed six people, including two firefighters, and forced more than 39,000 people from their homes, making the blaze one of the most destructive in the state's history. It's burning near the northern California city of Redding. At least 19 people are missing in Shasta County, officials said at a community meeting Monday evening.

As of Monday evening, the fire had burned roughly 104,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,100 structures, including more than 800 homes. Another 4,000 homes are at risk, Cal Fire said in its most recent update Monday night.

Firefighters gained some ground Monday containing the fire, which has grown into the state's seventh-most destructive. It is now about a quarter contained, up from 20 percent earlier. It was just 5 percent contained late Sunday.

Forecasters said conditions will be difficult Tuesday due to increasing winds, hot and dry weather, steep terrain and excess vegetation.

More than 3,600 fire personnel, 334 fire engines and 17 helicopters are involved in fighting the Carr Fire.

Officials have identified some of the victims -- including fire inspector Jeremy Stoke, bulldozer operator Don Ray Smith, resident Melody Bledsoe and her two great-grandchildren. Bledsoe and the children died after they became trapped in their burning house. The sixth victim was not immediately named.

Two other people died while crews were battling the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park. At a news conference Monday, officials grieved the death of Capt. Brian Hughes, who was struck by a tree over the weekend. The 33-year-old was a firefighter of the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots.

Braden Varney, 36, a heavy fire equipment operator, died July 14 while battling the blaze.</s>One month into California's fiscal year, the state has already spent about one-fourth of its $442.8M annual emergency fund fighting fires.

Those costs are expected to go up due to the extensive ground and air firefighting resources being used.

If the state's fire costs exceed its e-fund budget in fiscal 2018-19, California can tap into its traditional budget reserves that now total about $2B.</s>California Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday called the wildfire situation in the state part of "the new normal." He said California has the money to fight fires today, but cautioned things could get tighter in coming years due to a likely downturn.

More than a dozen major wildfires are burning in the state, including the monster Carr fire in Northern California that has already destroyed more than 1,000 homes and killed six people. Seventeen large fires have burned more than 250,000 acres and thousands of residents still are evacuated.

"So far, this fire activity is a small part of our very large budget but it is a growing part and will continue to grow as we adapt to the changing weather," Brown said during a news conference about wildfires at the State Operations Center in Mather, California.

Through last Friday, California had already spent $115 million on emergency firefighting since the start of the July 1 fiscal year, or about one-fourth of the state's $442.8 million annual so-called e-fund budget. However, if the state's fire costs exceed its e-fund budget in fiscal 2018-19, California can tap into its traditional budget reserves.

"There's money in this year's budget," Brown said, noting that the state is experiencing its ninth year of recovery. "We have a rainy day fund. We're not down to our last dollar at this point."

However, the governor conceded that the state will at some point experience a downturn in the economy that likely will change its fiscal situation. When that happens, he said the state could resort to borrowing if needed.</s>At least 17 California fires have destroyed more than 275,000 acres across the state dating back to at least July 23, killing at least six people, injuring hundreds more and displacing thousands, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).

The California fires stoked furiously over the past weekend, spreading rapidly and causing Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency in Lake, Mendocino, and Napa counties. Redding, the largest city in the Northern California impact area, has been hit particularly hard, with the Carr Fire spreading so far that it has become one of the worst fires in the state's history—and it's only 23% contained as of July 31.

As firefighters continue to battle the blazes—from the Carr Fire to the Mendocino Complex Fire to the Idyllwild Fire—the news continually evolves on this story. For an up-to-the-minute fire update from CAL FIRE, check out these California fire Google Maps .

For images of the damage caused by California fires in 2018, view the photo gallery above.</s>There are 17 wildfires raging across the state of California right now. As of late morning Tuesday, they’ve consumed more than 200,000 acres of land. About 15,000 people have been put under a mandatory evacuation order since the start of the week. At least 12,000 firefighters are deployed across the state. The largest conflagration, the Carr fire, is only about 27 percent contained. The recent firestorms of Northern California have burned more than 900 homes since they began on July 23. At least eight people are dead. And that’s just what’s happening right now.

We are only a couple of months into this year’s fire season, and already nearly 500,000 acres in California have burned. There will be other fires in the coming months. And, according to an op-ed in the Orange County Register penned by Battalion Chief Drew Smith, a fire behavior analyst with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the state still has millions of acres of land—much of it adjacent to urban areas—that are vulnerable because they have not been exposed to fire for decades. Rainfall this year is 50 to 70 percent below normal. Temperatures in the past year across the state have been the hottest on record.

This isn’t the first difficult fire season we’ve seen recently, either. Last year went down as the worst year on record for California wildfires, and wildfire season has been getting longer and burning more land in recent years. On Monday, the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle ran a piece headlined “California’s Fire Season Is Now Year-round.” The same day, the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times wrote a column titled, “When Fire Season Lasts All Year Long.” If you live here, it feels unending.

If you live in California long enough, at some point, fire will probably become a part of your life.

Below is a timeline of the start dates for some of the biggest California fires of the past few years. An exhaustive list would be gigantic, so I’ve pulled out fires that were particularly noteworthy because of their path of destruction and the number of people they affected. This isn’t even close to a comprehensive list of fires that have blazed across the state, and burns that consume 300 acres can be as dangerous as burns that consume 10,000. Fires can last for weeks or months, and many of these fires are or at one point were burning simultaneously. California is the most populated state in the country. But for people who have never lived in a state consumed by wildfires, the scope of the destruction might not register. National news reports tend to treat each incident in isolation. But when you zoom out to see the big picture—the amount of land, the weeks of raging fires, the death toll, the thousands of firefighters, the loss of everything—the inescapability of massive wildfires starts to come into focus.

This ongoing fire—which was originally classified as two separate fires—is only 10 percent contained. Cal Fire decided to rename the River fire and the Ranch fire the Mendocino Complex fire because they are in the same general area. The Mendocino area fires almost doubled in size overnight on Sunday. About 14,000 people have been ordered to evacuate Lake County.

The largest fire to start in 2018, the Carr fire has already engulfed more than 110,000 acres (roughly seven times the size of Manhattan) and is only 27 percent contained. More than 800 homes have been consumed, and about 3,400 firefighting personnel are on the scene to try to control the blaze. By the end of last week, the Carr fire started to produce “fire vortexes,” which are basically fire tornadoes that can jump over roads and rivers. As the hot air from the fire rises, it swirls into a plume that spews carbon monoxide and creates its own weather system.

At least six people have died in the Carr fire.

This fire is currently about 33 percent contained and has resulted in two firefighting-related deaths so far. After five years of drought and beetle infestation, the area is now filled with dead trees and highly combustible dry pine needles.

June 30, 2018: The County fire in Lake, Napa, and Yolo counties; 90,288 acres burned

The cause of this fire was an improperly installed livestock fence. It is fully contained.

Dec. 4, 2017: The Thomas fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties; 281,893 acres burned

The Thomas fire was the largest wildfire in modern California history, and it took about five weeks to contain it. About a month into the fire, rain season started, causing massive mudslides that took 21 people’s lives. More than 104,000 people had to evacuate their homes. Damages from the fire exceeded $2 billion, and more than 1,000 structures were destroyed. About 250,000 people in the area lost power.

Oct. 8–9, 2017: Multiple wine country and Northern California fires; more than 200,000 acres burned

The Nuns fire that ran through Napa and Sonoma counties started Oct. 8 and claimed 56,600 acres before it was contained in February of this year. Nearly 1,400 structures were destroyed. The same day in 2017 the Atlas fire began. It went on to burn 51,600 acres in Napa and Solano counties by the time it was contained in February. Just a day after the Nuns and Atlas fires began, the Tubbs fire of Napa and Sonoma counties started. It remains the most destructive wildfire in California history. More than 5,600 structures were destroyed. The fire spread quickly, with winds reaching 50 miles per hour. Damages exceeded $2 billion, and 22 people died.

The Detwiler fire destroyed more than 100 structures, and a mandatory evacuation was ordered for the town of Mariposa and surrounding area.

The Blue Cut fire raged for seven days and led to the mandatory evacuation of more than 82,000 Californians. More than 300 buildings were destroyed.

The Chimney fire burned for 25 days and swallowed 70 structures near Lake Nacimiento. At its peak, nearly 4,000 firefighting personnel were on the scene.

The Sand fire lasted nearly two weeks, destroyed 18 homes, and spurred the evacuation of about 20,000 people from the Santa Clarita Valley north of Los Angeles. The fire was pushed into the Angeles National Forest shortly after it sparked. Hundreds of horses, goats, chickens, and other farm animals were rescued.

A NASA satellite took a photograph of the scared land from the Sand fire from space.

The Soberanes fire ravaged the Big Sur coast, consuming nearly 60 structures during the 83 days it took to contain it. With more than 5,000 firefighters on the ground, the Soberanes fire ballooned to one of the most expensive firefighting operation in modern U.S. history. The rains that followed the Soberanes fire caused a landslide in early 2017 that ruined Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge and closed Highway 1 on the California coast.

The Erskine fire took two lives and destroyed nearly 300 homes before it was fully contained.

If you live in California long enough, at some point, fire will probably become a part of your life. And while each news cycle seems to happen in a vacuum, the fires are all connected—in cause, in the scope of damage, and in the pain they leave behind.</s>As the 2018 California fires continue to sweep the state, especially near Northern California National Parks, the cost of these deadly wildfires only keeps growing. Pictures of California’s fires barely hint at the damage.

The Carr Fire is already one of the most destructive fires in Golden State history, and has claimed the lives of at least eight people, including two firefighters, as of Tuesday. The total destruction is still unknown, but already, the costs are staggering.

Suppressing such a massive blaze comes with an extraordinary price tag, and already, Carr Fire total suppression costs have topped $25 million. The total home value lost may be as high as $253 million. That’s based on a median sale price of $281,500 in Shasta County, and 900 homes lost to the fire so far, according to the .

But even costlier than the Carr Fire, so far, is the Ferguson Fire, which began 10 days before the Carr Fire and has so far cost over $64 million in suppression costs alone. That figure does not include home loss estimates.

Historically, California fires end up costing billions in state and federal suppression costs, as well as insurance claims. And with dozens of fires across the state each year, the total amounts are often astronomical.

The 2017 fires that destroyed parts of Northern California Wine Country may end up exceeding $2.5 billion in claims, with property damages alone possibly topping $10 million. The Wine Country wildfires have largely been blamed on faulty transmission lines and other equipment owned by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), making it one of the utility giant’s worst financial disasters, according to .</s>California firefighters and emergency services continued on Tuesday to try to contain about a dozen fires still active in the state which have devastated over 100,000 hectares, according to official data on Tuesday.

At least eight people have in recent weeks died in the fires, which have swept through California due to its hot and dry climate.</s>One month into California's fiscal year, the state has already spent about one-fourth of its emergency fund fighting fires across the state. Now with more than a dozen large wildfires raging and firefighting resources stretched thin, crews are on the way from as far as the East Coast., according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. At least eight deaths have been attributed to the fires, which have burned about almost 240,000 acres, or about 375 square miles up and down the state."We're very active right now across the state with fires," said Cal Fire Deputy Chief Scott McLean. "Vegetation is so dry, especially with the winds that are coming and have been coming."Cal Fire said Monday that hot and dry conditions have contributed to the wildfire risk statewide, including low humidity and high winds in some areas of Northern California. The southern portion of the state has baked in triple-digit temperatures in some inland areas in recent weeks.Adding to the wildfire risk are an estimated 129 million dead trees in California forests due to years of drought and beetle infestation, according to the U.S. Forest Service., according to Cal Fire.The most destructive blaze is the so-called Carr fire in Shasta and Trinity counties, which has destroyed at least 818 homes and killed six people. As of Monday evening, the fire has burned nearly 104,000 acres and was listed as 23 percent contained and with more than 3,600 fire personnel on the lines.The state called in California National Guard troops to assist in firefighting efforts, but McLean said resources are still "tight" with so many major fires burning statewide. By the end of the week, California expects to have crews from more than a dozen other states on the fire lines helping to battle the blazes, with new arrivals coming from Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, New Mexico and Oregon., according to H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the California Department of Finance. Those fire costs are through Friday and expected to go up due to extensive ground and air firefighting resources being used.However, if the state's fire costs exceed its e-fund budget in fiscal 2018-19, California can tap into its traditional budget reserves. California's state budget reserves now total about $2 billion.In Northern California, crews were making progress in fighting the Carr fire, which started a week ago. Officials believe the fire was ignited by mechanical failure of a vehicle."The fire perimeter in Redding itself is now contained," said Jonathan Cox, a regional battalion chief with Cal Fire in Northern California. "So now we're just literally trying to secure all of the areas so we can get people home."Authorities on Sunday announced a sixth fatality for the Carr fire, which forced about 38,000 residents to evacuate last week. Shasta Sheriff Tom Bosenko announced Monday afternoon there are 19 reports outstanding of missing person cases.Fire personnel are now focusing on getting in front of the Carr fire on the Trinity County side using bulldozers and hand crews. Cox said the monster fire is now burning in sparsely populated areas; as of Monday temperatures had fallen about 10 degrees from last week's peak and there was little or no wind.About 150 miles to the south, there are two other major wildfires burning in Mendocino and Lake counties. As of Monday afternoon the Ranch fire had burned more than 45,000 acres and the River fire 23,411 acres. Thousands of people were evacuated from mostly rural areas and some small towns in the path of the fires, which remain under investigation. The two blazes are 5 percent contained.The Ferguson fire in Mariposa County, now in its 19th day, has burned more than 57,000 acres and forced the closure of Yosemite National Park. Officials said they plan to reopen Yosemite park to all visitors starting Friday afternoon.There have been two fire personnel fatalities in connection with the Ferguson fire, including a firefighter who died Saturday in the line of duty when he was struck by a tree. As of Monday, the blaze was 30 percent contained and had more than 3,600 fire personnel engaged on the fire. The cause of the blaze is still listed as unknown.Further south, the Cranston fire is burning near Idyllwild in Riverside County. It has charred more than 13,100 acres and is 57 percent contained. There are more than 1,500 crews battling the arson-sparked fire, which has charred brush and timber in the San Jacinto Mountains.</s>Melted metal is seen under a wildfire-damaged car in Lakeport as crews slowed the spread of one of the blazes.

Firefighters watch a back burn during the Mendocino Complex Fire as it threatens the Upper Lake community in Lake County.

SACRAMENTO — California’s firefighters are stretched as thin as they have ever been, state officials said Tuesday, with no indication that the wave of fires scorching the Golden State will ease in the coming months.

It used to be that the fire season picked up at the end of August and ran through October. That changed with the state’s five-year drought, and this year’s outbreak in July has officials worried about firefighter fatigue.

It was an unprecedented month for fires, both in the number of acres burned and the cost of fielding crews to douse the flames.

The state spent $125 million in July fighting wildfires. That was more than one-fourth of what was budgeted for the entire fiscal year, which began July 1 and won’t end until June 30, 2019.

It was also a tragic month for firefighters. Four died while battling blazes, two on the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park and two on the Carr Fire as it threatened Redding.

“Unfortunately, no one is going home,” said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “There is no rest. ... We are literally moving firefighters and personnel from one fire to another, and will continue to do so until the threat is mitigated.”

Cliff Allen, president of Cal Fire Local 2881, the union that represents employees with the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the workload is taking a toll.

“Fatigue is starting to set in,” Allen said.

Nearly 300,000 acres of state and local lands have burned in California since January, 70,000 acres more than at this time last year and close to triple the five-year average for the date. Cal Fire has had to tap agencies in 12 other states to help build the force of 10,500 firefighters who are on the lines fighting the largest fires.

State officials even persuaded Australia and New Zealand to send firefighters. And Ghilarducci said his office is considering asking the Pentagon to deploy ground troops from the Marines or Army who can help clear brush to stop fires from spreading.

“We have fire literally from one end of the state to the other, and we have weather conditions that are making this an even more dynamic situation,” Ghilarducci said. “We have to get resources to the right place at the right time. It’s like a chess board.”

Ghilarducci said that in recent days, state officials redirected fire crews from the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite to the Carr Fire as it threatened Redding and to the Mendocino Complex Fire when it took aim at communities in Lake County.

When those fires are contained, Ghilarducci said, it’s unlikely firefighters will get a break. The way the summer is going, they’ll probably have another fire to put out.

“It’s really all hands on deck,” he said.

And that comes at a cost.

The state is likely to need to dip into reserves for the eighth time in the past decade to cover the cost of putting out wildfires. That’s despite an ever-increasing budget for fighting fires.

Last year, the state budgeted $427 million. The outburst of fires in the North Bay and elsewhere in October, and then in Southern California in December, left the state, local governments and the federal government having to come up with another $470 million to cover costs.

California has budgeted $443 million for this fiscal year that began July 1, and has spent $125 million so far. That’s more than the state spent during the entire 2010-11 fiscal year.

“This is why the governor has been so insistent over the years of having a healthy budget reserve because, as this year may very well show, Mother Nature doesn’t always coordinate with the state budget,” said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state Department of Finance. “The second thing it speaks to is that it underscores what the governor has talked about in terms of the kind of effect that climate change has had on conditions in California and how they set the state up for these kinds of catastrophic wildfires.”

Edward Struzik, author of the book “Firestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape Our Future,” said rising firefighting costs are going to put pressure on budgets across the U.S. in coming years. The only way to prevent that is to keep people from moving into wildland areas and investing in technology that predicts where fires are likely to happen, he said.

“There is no indication we will get cooler and wetter in the West,” Struzik said. “Every study I’ve seen shows California and most of the American West will get hotter and drier. We have more people working and living in these forest areas, and that is increasing the likelihood of fires. I don’t see any other future other than one with more fires.”

And, he added, a future of “really stressed-out fire crews.”</s>Net Income Increases 45% to $1.4 Million in the June 2018 Quarter Compared to the June 2017 Quarter

Net Interest Margin Expands 19 Basis Points to 3.28% in the June 2018 Quarter Compared to the June 2017 Quarter

Repurchased 383,585 Shares of Common Stock during the Current Fiscal Year, Approximately 5% of Total Outstanding

RIVERSIDE, Calif., July 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. (“Company”), NASDAQ GS: PROV, the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, F.S.B. (“Bank”), today announced fourth quarter and full year earnings results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2018, the Company reported net income of $1.40 million, or $0.18 per diluted share (on 7.59 million average diluted shares outstanding), an increase of 45 percent from net income of $964,000, or $0.12 per diluted share (on 8.00 million average diluted shares outstanding), in the comparable period a year ago. Compared to the same quarter last year, the increase in earnings was primarily attributable to a $1.60 million decrease in salaries and employee benefits expense, the $1.02 million litigation settlement expense recorded in other non-interest expense in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 (not replicated in the comparable quarter of fiscal 2018), a $389,000 increase in net interest income and a $312,000 reduction in net loss on the sale and operations of real estate owned acquired in the settlement of loans, partly offset by a $2.77 million decrease in the gain on sale of loans and a $188,000 decrease in the recovery from the allowance for loan losses.

“Our community banking results continue to strengthen and the outlook for our community banking business is favorable. Our net interest margin has expanded significantly in the face of rising interest rates with the balance of core deposits increasing with little impact on deposit costs. The credit quality of our loan portfolio is strong and we are well-capitalized to support our growth goals and capital initiatives,” said Craig G. Blunden, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. “However, the continued weakness in mortgage banking fundamentals has resulted in necessary adjustments to our mortgage banking business model. During the 2018 fiscal year, we have reduced our retail production offices by 25%, from 12 to nine and we have reduced our mortgage banking staffing levels by approximately 32%. We will continue to manage and adjust our cost structure to better align our mortgage banking operations with current loan production opportunities,” Mr. Blunden concluded.

Return on average assets for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 increased to 0.48 percent from 0.32 percent for the same period of fiscal 2017; and return on average stockholders’ equity for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 increased to 4.65 percent from 2.95 percent for the comparable period of fiscal 2017.

On a sequential quarter basis, the $1.40 million net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 reflects a $333,000, or 19 percent decrease from net income of $1.73 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2018. The decrease in earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2018 was primarily attributable to a $556,000 decrease in the gain on sale of loans, a $316,000 decrease in the recovery from the allowance for loan losses and a $203,000 increase in the provision for income taxes, partly offset by a $697,000 decrease in salaries and employees benefits expense and a $183,000 increase in net interest income. Diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 were $0.18 per share, down 22 percent from the $0.23 per share during the third quarter of fiscal 2018. Return on average assets decreased to 0.48 percent for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from 0.59 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2018; and return on average stockholders’ equity for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 was 4.65 percent, compared to 5.76 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2018.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, net income decreased $3.08 million, or 59 percent, to $2.13 million from net income of $5.21 million in the comparable period ended June 30, 2017. The decrease in earnings for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 compared to the comparable period ended June 30, 2017 was primarily attributable to an $8.93 million decrease in non-interest income (primarily due to a $9.88 million decrease in the gain on sale of loans) and a $506,000 decrease in the recovery from the allowance for loan losses, partly offset by a $5.58 million decrease in non-interest expense (primarily due to a $6.92 million decrease in salaries and employee benefits expense) and a $562,000 increase in net interest income. Diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 decreased 56 percent to $0.28 per share (on 7.70 million average diluted shares outstanding) from $0.64 per share (on 8.10 million average diluted shares outstanding) for the last fiscal year.

Net interest income increased $389,000, or four percent, to $9.31 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from $8.92 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2017, attributable to an increase in the net interest margin, partly offset by a lower average interest-earning assets balance. The net interest margin during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 increased 19 basis points to 3.28 percent from 3.09 percent in the same quarter last year, primarily due to an increase in the average yield of interest-earning assets, partly offset by an increase in the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities. The average yield on interest-earning assets increased by 20 basis points to 3.84 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from 3.64 percent in the same quarter last year and the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased by one basis point to 0.63 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from 0.62 percent in the same quarter last year. The average balance of interest-earning assets decreased by $20.2 million, or two percent, to $1.14 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from $1.16 billion in the same quarter last year.

The average balance of loans receivable, including loans held for sale, decreased by $13.0 million, or one percent, to $986.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from $999.4 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2017, primarily due to a decrease in average loans held for sale attributable to a decrease in mortgage banking activity (primarily due to higher mortgage interest rates and lower refinance volume), partly offset by an increase in average loans held for investment. The average yield on loans receivable increased by 15 basis points to 4.13 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from an average yield of 3.98 percent in the same quarter of fiscal 2017. The increase in the average loan yield was primarily attributable to increases in both the average yield of loans held for investment and the average yield of loans held for sale combined with a lower percentage of loans held for sale to total loans receivable. The average balance of loans held for investment in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 was $904.8 million with an average yield of 4.09 percent, up from $890.8 million with an average yield of 3.99 percent in the same quarter of fiscal 2017; while the average balance of loans held for sale in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 was $81.6 million with an average yield of 4.56 percent, down from $108.7 million with an average yield of 3.94 percent in the same quarter of fiscal 2017. The outstanding balance of “preferred loans” (multi-family, commercial real estate, construction and commercial business loans) increased by $4.3 million, or one percent, to $589.4 million at June 30, 2018 from $585.1 million at June 30, 2017, net of undisbursed loan funds of $4.3 million and $9.0 million, respectively. The percentage of preferred loans to total loans held for investment at June 30, 2018 increased to 65 percent from 64 percent at June 30, 2017. Loan principal payments received in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 were $64.6 million, compared to $45.5 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2017.

The average balance of investment securities increased by $35.9 million, or 56 percent, to $99.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from $63.9 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2017. The increase was primarily attributable to mortgage-backed securities purchases, partly offset by principal payments received on mortgage-backed securities. The average yield on investment securities increased 17 basis points to 1.55 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from 1.38 percent for the same quarter of fiscal 2017. The increase in the average yield was primarily attributable to mortgage-backed securities purchases which had higher average yields than the existing portfolio and the repricing of variable rate investment securities to higher market interest rates.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) – San Francisco distributed $140,000 of quarterly cash dividends to the Bank, unchanged from the same quarter last year.

The average balance of the Company’s interest-earning deposits, primarily cash with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, decreased $43.2 million, or 51 percent, to $41.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from $84.7 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2017. The decrease in interest-earning deposits was primarily due to the purchases of investment securities. The average yield earned on interest-earning deposits in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 was 1.84 percent, up 81 basis points from 1.03 percent in the same quarter of fiscal 2017 as a result of the impact of the increases in the federal funds rate over the last year.

Average deposits decreased $18.3 million, or two percent, to $910.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from $928.3 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2017. The average cost of deposits decreased by one basis point to 0.38 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from 0.39 percent in the same quarter last year, primarily due to a lower percentage of time deposits to total deposits. Transaction account balances or “core deposits” increased $11.4 million, or two percent, to $670.0 million at June 30, 2018 from $658.6 million at June 30, 2017, while time deposits decreased $30.3 million, or 11 percent, to $237.6 million at June 30, 2018 from $267.9 million at June 30, 2017, consistent with the Bank’s strategy to decrease the percentage of time deposits in its deposit base and to increase the percentage of checking and savings accounts.

The average balance of borrowings, which consisted of FHLB – San Francisco advances, increased $6.3 million, or six percent, to $117.7 million and the average cost of FHLB advances decreased six basis points to 2.53 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, compared to an average balance of $111.4 million with an average cost of 2.59 percent in the same quarter of fiscal 2017. The decrease in the average cost of advances was primarily due to the maturity of a long-term advance which was renewed at a lower interest rate in the third quarter of fiscal 2018.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company recorded a recovery from the allowance for loan losses of $189,000, compared to a recovery from the allowance for loan losses of $377,000 recorded during the same period of fiscal 2017 and a recovery from the allowance for loan losses of $505,000 recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (sequential quarter). The recovery from the allowance for loan losses was primarily attributable to the improving risk profile of the loan portfolio as reflected in the asset quality ratios, net loan recoveries and loan balances shifting to lower risk categories from higher risk categories, in particular a reduction in higher-risk construction loans.

Non-performing assets, with underlying collateral located in California, decreased $2.6 million, or 27 percent, to $7.0 million, or 0.59 percent of total assets, at June 30, 2018, compared to $9.6 million, or 0.80 percent of total assets, at June 30, 2017. Non-performing loans decreased $1.9 million, or 24 percent, to $6.1 million at June 30, 2018 from $8.0 million at June 30, 2017. The non-performing loans at June 30, 2018 are comprised of 21 single-family loans ($6.0 million) and one commercial business loan ($64,000). At June 30, 2018, real estate owned was $906,000, a decline of $709,000, or 44%, from $1.6 million at June 30, 2017 and was comprised of two single-family real estate owned properties acquired during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2018.

Net loan recoveries for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 were $43,000 or (0.02) percent (annualized) of average loans receivable, compared to net loan recoveries of $141,000 or (0.06) percent (annualized) of average loans receivable for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 and net loan charge-offs of $39,000 or 0.02 percent (annualized) of average loans receivable for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 (sequential quarter).

Classified assets at June 30, 2018 were $15.8 million, comprised of $7.5 million of loans in the special mention category, $7.4 million of loans in the substandard category and $906,000 in real estate owned; while classified assets at June 30, 2017 were $13.3 million, comprised of $3.7 million of loans in the special mention category, $8.0 million of loans in the substandard category and $1.6 million in real estate owned.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2018, no new loans were restructured from their original terms and classified as restructured loans, while two restructured loans were upgraded to the “pass” category and one restructured loan was downgraded to the “substandard” category. The outstanding restructured loans at June 30, 2018 were $5.2 million, up 44 percent from $3.6 million at June 30, 2017, of which $2.9 million or 56 percent were current at June 30, 2018, with respect to their modified payment terms.

The allowance for loan losses was $7.4 million at June 30, 2018, or 0.81 percent of gross loans held for investment, compared to $8.0 million at June 30, 2017, or 0.88 percent of gross loans held for investment. Management believes that, based on currently available information, the allowance for loan losses is sufficient to absorb potential losses inherent in loans held for investment at June 30, 2018.

Non-interest income decreased by $2.36 million, or 34 percent, to $4.59 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from $6.95 million in the same period of fiscal 2017, primarily as a result of a decrease in the gain on sale of loans during the current quarter as compared to the comparable period last year. On a sequential quarter basis, non-interest income decreased $618,000, or 12 percent, primarily as a result of a decrease in the gain on sale of loans and, to a lesser extent, a decline in loan servicing and other fees.

The gain on sale of loans decreased $2.77 million, or 48 percent, to $3.04 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 from $5.81 million in the comparable quarter last year, and decreased $556,000 or 15 percent from the quarter ended March 31, 2018 (sequential quarter), reflecting the impact of a lower loan sale volume and a lower average loan sale margin. Total loan sale volume, which includes the net change in commitments to extend credit on loans to be held for sale, was $236.3 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2018, down $145.8 million or 38 percent, from $382.1 million in the comparable quarter last year but increased slightly from $235.5 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2018 (sequential quarter). The average loan sale margin from mortgage banking was 129 basis points for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, a decrease of 21 basis points from 150 basis points in the same quarter last year, and 24 basis points lower than 153 basis points in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (sequential quarter). The decline in the average loan sale margin was the result of competitive pricing pressure due to recent market conditions consistent with falling demand for mortgages. The gain on sale of loans includes a favorable fair-value adjustment on loans held for sale and derivative financial instruments (commitments to extend credit, commitments to sell loans, commitments to sell mortgage-backed securities, and option contracts) that amounted to a net gain of $85,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, compared to a favorable fair-value adjustment that amounted to a net gain of $273,000 in the same period last year and an unfavorable fair-value adjustment that amounted to a net loss of $844,000 in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (sequential quarter).

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, $241.6 million of loans were originated and purchased for sale, 40 percent lower than the $405.9 million for the same period last year, but 10 percent higher than the $220.2 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (sequential quarter). The loan origination volume has decreased from the previous year as a result of increased mortgage interest rates reducing refinance activity. Total loans sold during the quarter ended June 30, 2018 were $233.9 million, 41 percent lower than the $397.3 million sold during the same quarter last year, but four percent higher than the $225.9 million sold during the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (sequential quarter). Total loan originations (including loans originated and purchased for investment and loans originated and purchased for sale) were $312.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, a decrease of 35 percent from $479.8 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2017, but 16 percent higher than the $269.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (sequential quarter).

Non-interest expenses decreased $2.90 million, or 20 percent, to $11.82 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 from $14.72 million in the same quarter last year. The decrease was primarily due to a $1.60 million decrease in salaries and employee benefits expense and a $1.25 million decrease in other non-interest expense (due mainly to a $1.01 million litigation settlement expense recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, which was not replicated this quarter). The decrease in salaries and employee benefits expense was primarily related to lower variable compensation resulting from lower mortgage banking loan originations and staff reductions in mortgage banking. On a sequential quarter basis, non-interest expenses decreased $621,000 or five percent from $12.44 million, primarily as a result of a $697,000 decrease in salaries and employment benefits expense.

The Company’s efficiency ratio in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 was 85 percent, an improvement from 93 percent in the same quarter last year and 87 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (sequential quarter).

The Company’s income tax provision was $870,000 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, up 55 percent from the $560,000 provision for income taxes in the same quarter last year. The increase was primarily attributable to the higher income before taxes, partly offset by the reduction of the federal corporate tax rate resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Tax Act”). In addition, our 2018 fiscal year required the use of a blended federal corporate tax rate as prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code, which is 28.06% and was applied through June 30, 2018. For the three months ending September 30, 2018 and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, the Company will apply the recently enacted federal corporate tax rate of 21% pursuant to the Tax Act. The Company believes that the tax provision recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 reflects its current income tax obligations.

The Company repurchased 39,378 shares of its common stock during the quarter ended June 30, 2018 at an average cost of $18.31 per share. As of June 30, 2018, a total of 383,585 shares under the June 2017 stock repurchase plan have been purchased at an average cost of $19.00 per share and no shares remain available for purchase. On April 26, 2018, the Board of Directors approved the April 2018 stock repurchase plan of up to 373,000 shares, which became available at the expiration of the June 2017 plan.

The Bank currently operates 14 retail/business banking offices in Riverside County and San Bernardino County (Inland Empire). Provident Bank Mortgage operates two wholesale loan production offices and nine retail loan production offices located throughout California.

The Company will host a conference call for institutional investors and bank analysts on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. (Pacific) to discuss its financial results. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-800-230-1059 and requesting the Provident Financial Holdings Earnings Release Conference Call. An audio replay of the conference call will be available through Tuesday, August 7, 2018 by dialing 1-800-475-6701 and referencing access code number 452042.

For more financial information about the Company please visit the website at www.myprovident.com and click on the “Investor Relations” section.

This press release contains statements that the Company believes are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to the Company’s financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance or business. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, as they are subject to risks and uncertainties. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind these risks and uncertainties, as well as any cautionary statements the Company may make. Moreover, you should treat these statements as speaking only as of the date they are made and based only on information then actually known to the Company. There are a number of important factors that could cause future results to differ materially from historical performance and these forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated or implied by our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to increased competitive pressures; changes in the interest rate environment; secondary market conditions for loans and our ability to sell loans in the secondary market; changes in general economic conditions and conditions within the securities markets; legislative and regulatory changes; and other factors described in the Company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) - which are available on our website at www.myprovident.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. We do not undertake and specifically disclaim any obligation to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These risks could cause our actual results for fiscal 2019 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements by, or on behalf of us and could negatively affect our operating and stock price performance.

(1) The interest rate described in the rate column is the weighted-average interest rate or cost of all instruments, which are included in the balance of the respective line item.





(1) The interest rate described in the rate column is the weighted-average interest rate or yield/cost of all instruments, which are included in the balance of the respective line item.

(2) Includes loans held for investment and loans held for sale at fair value, net of the allowance for loan losses.

(1) The interest rate described in the rate column is the weighted-average interest rate or yield/cost of all instruments, which are included in the balance of the respective line item.

(2) Includes loans held for investment and loans held for sale at fair value, net of the allowance for loan losses.

(1) The non-performing loans balances are net of individually evaluated or collectively evaluated allowances, specifically attached to the individual loans and include fair value credit adjustments.
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