Signature Bank reported 2018 net income of $505.3 million, up from $387.2 million in 2017, an increase of $118.1 million, or 30.5%.

Net Income for Q4/18 was $160.8 million versus $114.9 million reported in Q4/17. The increase in net income for Q4/18, when compared with the same period last year, was primarily the result of an increase in net interest income, fueled by strong average deposit and loan growth as well as an increase in prepayment penalty income, and a decrease in the provision for loan losses attributable to taxi medallion loan write-downs. These factors were partially offset by an increase in non-interest expenses.

Net interest income for Q4/18 rose $15.3 million, or 4.8%, to $335.0 million, year over year. This increase is primarily due to growth in average interest-earning assets and an increase in prepayment penalty income. Total assets reached $47.36 billion at December 31, 2018, expanding $4.24 billion, or 9.8%, from $43.12 billion at December 31, 2017. Average assets for Q4/18 reached $46.60 billion, an increase of $4.45 billion, or 10.6%, versus the comparable period a year ago.

Loans increased $1.30 billion, or 3.7%, to $36.42 billion in Q4/18. Since year-end 2017, loans increased $3.81 billion, or 11.7%.

“Throughout 2018, Signature Bank continued to execute its core strategy,” said Joseph J. DePaolo, president and chief executive officer. “We continued to reinvest in our infrastructure with the implementation of a new loan operating system, buildouts of a new loan approval system and foreign exchange platform as well as the reorganization of our Cash Management and Product Management groups. Lastly, on January 1, 2019, we innovated when we launched Signet, a new proprietary, blockchain-based digital payments platform, allowing our commercial clients to interact in a real-time and transparent manner.

“This past year has been a volatile time for the banking industry, driven by a variety of external factors. However, we continued to perform by keeping with our founding mission and sustaining our leadership position in serving privately held businesses. Our focus, initiatives and proven capabilities should differentiate us from the pack, and we are prepared to address any challenges that may lie ahead,” DePaolo concluded.

Scott A. Shay, Chairman of the Board, said: “We are ever-mindful of the fact that technology is reshaping banking. We could not have founded Signature Bank in 2001 as a full-service commercial bank with a new single point of contact model without the technological advancements of the 1990s. We continuously examine the needs of our business clients to set our technology agenda, and strive to save them money and keep it safe, while allowing them to focus on their own business — and not banking. It is from this fundamental perspective Signet was born. By launching Signet, we are empowering our clients to make instantaneous USD payments in real time (24/7/365) at no cost per transaction. With Signet, we are playing a key role in the revolutionizing of commercial digital payments.

“The client response to Signet has been uniformly positive. Clients are already evaluating their business practices to determine how they might bring their ecosystems onto the Signet platform. There are no other platforms that offer transparency and convenience commercially at this time. We are working with clients across specific industries to tailor the system as we strive for continuous improvement. We recognize banking will be vastly different five years from now, and we aim to be among the leaders.”