Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation Reports Record Earnings for 2015

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation ("Atlantic Coast" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: ACFC), the holding company for Atlantic Coast Bank (the "Bank"), today reported earnings per diluted share of $0.50 for the year ended December 31, 2015, up from $0.09 for the year ended December 31, 2014. As previously reported, earnings for the full year 2015 included the impact of the reversal of a valuation allowance against the Company's deferred tax asset in June 2015, which positively affected the provision for income taxes by $8.5 million. This was partially offset by prepayment penalties totaling $5.2 million, pre-tax, associated with the prepayment of some of the Company's wholesale debt during June 2015. Additionally, 2015 earnings were impacted by a $0.5 million, pre-tax, write-down in December 2015 related to a contract the Company entered into to sell an other real estate owned ("OREO") property (the "OREO Write-down"). The OREO Write-down included $0.2 million, pre-tax, related to the cost to sell the property, which is expected to close early in 2016.