Finance

CNB Financial's Organic Loan Growth Re-Accelerates

The Tip Desk · November 8, 2026 · 4 min read

Organic loans rose $76.5 million, or 4.73% annualized, in the third quarter as net interest income held at $76.3 million and diluted earnings stayed at $0.91 a share.

CNB Financial Corporation (CCNE), the parent of CNB Bank, reported net income available to common shareholders of $27.0 million, or $0.91 a diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $27.2 million, or $0.91 a share, in the second quarter.

The Clearfield, Pennsylvania, regional bank said organic loans, excluding syndicated balances, were $6.5 billion at quarter-end. Organic loans increased $76.5 million, or 1.19% (4.73% annualized), from June 30, 2026, a faster pace than the $64.3 million, or 1.01% (4.06% annualized), increase in the second quarter. The company attributed the third-quarter rise primarily to commercial real estate and residential real estate.

That re-acceleration followed a $67.3 million, or 1.41%, organic loan decline in the first quarter. Year-over-year organic loan growth as of September 30, 2026, compared with September 30, 2025, was $83.8 million, or 1.31%, and the company said it was driven primarily by the Ridge View Bank and ERIEBANK markets. The year-over-year comparison also reflected higher commercial real estate prepayments, including $71.4 million of ESSA-related CRE loans acquired in 2025 and a $40.0 million payoff of the largest office loan in the BankOnBuffalo division.

Syndicated loans, which the company said include only commercial and industrial credits and no CRE exposure, totaled $124.1 million, or 1.87% of total loans, up from $93.9 million, or 1.44%, at June 30, 2026.

Net interest income was $76.3 million, unchanged from the second quarter. Net interest margin was 3.89%, up 1 basis point from 3.88% in the second quarter after a 5 bps expansion from 3.83% in the first quarter. Fully tax-equivalent net interest margin was 3.89% in both the third and second quarters and included $2.7 million of purchase-accounting loan accretion in the third quarter, down from $4.8 million in the second.

Total revenue, net interest income plus non-interest income, was $87.8 million. Pre-provision net revenue was $36.7 million. The efficiency ratio was 58.21%; on a fully tax-equivalent basis the linked-quarter increase was 39 bps, which the company said was driven by higher non-interest expense. Annualized return on average equity was 12.09%.

Total deposits were $7.0 billion. Deposits declined $32.6 million, or 0.46% (1.83% annualized), versus June 30, 2026, after the bank exited about $76.1 million of higher-cost corporate deposits with an average interest cost of 3.69%. Excluding that exit, deposits rose about $43.5 million, or 0.61% (2.44% annualized). Noninterest-bearing deposits increased $13.5 million, or 1.18% (4.67% annualized), which the company tied to treasury management relationships. Deposits classified as held for sale were $78.0 million, associated with a planned sale of certain customer deposit accounts as part of a branch-and-market footprint initiative after the ESSA acquisition.

Net loan charge-offs were $2.4 million, or 0.14% annualized of average loans and loans held for sale, versus $1.4 million, or 0.09%, in the second quarter. The company said the increase was primarily $1.6 million of charge-offs on one commercial and industrial relationship; after the charge-off that relationship had a $3.0 million balance and about $2.0 million of reserve. Nonperforming assets were $56.9 million, or 0.68% of total assets, down from $58.4 million, or 0.69%, at June 30, 2026.

Book value per common share was $28.86, and tangible book value per common share was $24.87. The company said the book-value increase was primarily from retained earnings net of dividends, partially offset by a higher accumulated other comprehensive loss from temporary unrealized valuation changes in the available-for-sale portfolio. Pre-tax net unrealized losses on available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities totaled $81.9 million, or 8.98% of shareholders’ equity.

President and CEO Michael Peduzzi said earnings of $2.69 a diluted share for the first nine months of 2026 were a record versus comparable periods in prior years, and that the company sees a sound loan production pipeline and retail and treasury-management deposit growth opportunities entering the fourth quarter.

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