A "Top 200 Community Bank" in the U.S. for the fifteenth consecutive year

KILMARNCOK, VA / ACCESSWIRE / January 24, 2023 / On behalf of Chesapeake Financial Shares, Inc. (parent company of both Chesapeake Bank and Chesapeake Wealth Management), Jeffrey M. Szyperski, Chairman of the Board and CEO, reported record earnings for calendar year 2022 of $17,628,587 representing a 17.4% increase over 2021 earnings. The reported earnings per share were $3.73 fully diluted as compared to $3.11 in 2021. Chesapeake Financial Shares ended the year December 31, 2022 with total assets of $1,328,997,182, a 4.1% decrease from year-end 2021. Nonperforming assets were 0.541% as of December 31, 2022 compared to 0.490% at December 31, 2021. Additionally, recoveries exceeded charge-offs for the year by $86,722 further reflecting strong asset quality.

"Our strong earnings were largely boosted by our strong net interest margin," said Szyperski. "We were able to not increase our deposit rates on par with the Federal Reserve rate increases due to the high liquidity we maintained coming through the pandemic. Additionally, we recorded a one-time gain of $1.7 million (net of tax) from the sale of our partial interest in an investment brokerage firm in the third quarter. The net interest margin was 3.93% for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. In addition to our strong earnings, American Banker named us one of the ‘Top 200 Community Banks' in the United States for the fifteenth consecutive year and one of the ‘Best Banks to Work For' for the tenth consecutive year. We have been committed community partners and our communities have, in turn, supported us."

At the January 20, 2023 Chesapeake Financial Shares Board of Directors meeting, the Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share effective March 1, 2023, payable on or before March 15, 2023. The company has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. The stock currently has a 2.78% dividend yield.

For more information about Chesapeake Financial Shares stock (CPKF), or to receive daily e-mail alerts of our stock price, see www.chesapeakefinancialshares.com. To receive investor news updates about us visit our page on Proactive Investors (https://www.proactiveinvestors.com). The company is followed by Zacks Investment Research, and a copy of their report can also be found on this site or at www.zacks.com. Chesapeake Financial Shares is an over-the-counter, publicly traded stock. "Like" Chesapeake Bank on Facebook and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Contact: Jeffrey M. Szyperski 1-800-434-1181

SOURCE: Chesapeake Financial Shares Inc.