Levy Bancorp Net Income for 1st Quarter Falls 17%

Levy Bancorp, the Ventura parent of Bank of A. Levy, said its net income for the first quarter ended March 31 fell 17% to $1.49 million from $1.79 million a year before. The bank’s assets as of March 31 stood at $652 million, a 6% increase from $617 million a year earlier.

The bank’s non-performing loans about doubled to $8.8 million as of March 31, from $4.4 million as of Dec. 31, 1990, Douglas M. Peck Jr., executive vice president, said in a statement. “These increases are to be expected . . . and are not a cause for undue concern,” Peck’s statement said.

The bank attributed the decline in profit to a sharp decrease in interest rates.