MALVERN, Pa., Jan. 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meridian Corporation (Nasdaq: MRBK) today reported:

Christopher J. Annas, Chairman and CEO commented “Meridian’s fourth quarter revenue of $35.3 million generated earnings of $7.7 million, or $1.24 per diluted share. Year-to-date earnings equaled $35.6 million compared to $26.4 million in 2020, a 35% increase. Loan and lease growth year-over-year equaled 19.5% (excluding PPP loans and mortgage loans held for sale) with strong contributions across all lending groups. The investment in new commercial lenders during 2020-21 supported this growth, almost entirely in our core Philadelphia metro lending area. We were able to replace most of the PPP payoffs with new core commercial growth, resulting in better margins and more opportunities for referral business. Our annualized net interest margin was 3.77%, and we’re fairly well positioned for a move up in rates. Non-interest bearing deposits grew from 16.4% to 19.0% of total deposits year-over-year, with a greater portion of this growth coming from our treasury management and business development teams.”