1st Century Bancshares, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2012

LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 05/08/12 -- 1st Century Bancshares, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: FCTY), the holding company of 1st Century Bank, N.A. (the "Bank"), today reported net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 of $592,000, compared to $123,000 for the same period last year. Pre-tax, pre-provision earnings for the quarters ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 were $608,000 and $323,000, respectively.

Alan I. Rothenberg, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, "I'm encouraged by our financial results for the first quarter, which represent the continuation of our improving financial performance as market conditions and the general economy gradually stabilize. In addition to the increase in net income, highlights for the quarter include:

• Growth in total assets from $405 million at December 31, 2011 to $433 million at March 31, 2012;
• Growth in total deposits from $332 million at December 31, 2011 to $360 million at March 31, 2012, while reducing our cost of funds to 26 basis points;
• Continued improvement in our credit quality, with non-performing assets reduced to 1.7% of total assets, over a 30% decline in this ratio compared to the same period last year;
• Improved net interest income of $3.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 as compared to $2.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, despite a decrease in our net interest margin;
• Improved pre-tax, pre-provision earnings, which increased by over 88% during the current quarter as compared to the same period last year; and
• Improved diluted earnings per share, increasing to $0.07 per share from $0.01 per share during the first quarter of last year."

Pre-tax, pre-provision earnings, a non-GAAP financial measure, is presented because the Company believes adjusting its results to exclude tax and loan loss provisions provides stockholders with a useful metric for evaluating the core profitability of the Company. A schedule reconciling our GAAP net income/loss to pre-tax, pre-provision earnings is provided in the table below.

Mr. Rothenberg added, "I'm also encouraged by our growth. Over the past twelve months, our total assets have increased by approximately $115 million, or over 35%, and we believe that West Los Angeles continues to offer substantial opportunities for our institution. Although we continue to experience considerable growth, our Bank's capital ratios remain substantially in excess of the regulatory requirements to be considered 'well capitalized.'"

Jason P. DiNapoli, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company stated, "We're also optimistic about our consistently improving credit quality as our non-performing assets continue a declining trend. Since March 31, 2011, non-performing assets as a percentage of total assets has declined by over 30% and has declined by over 65% since its peak in 2009."

2012 1st Quarter Highlights