NewStar Financial reported net income of $6.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, down from $9.4 million in the same 2010 quarter. NewStar’s fourth-quarter 2010 net income included a gain on acquisition of $5.6 million. Net income for the full-year 2011 increased 38% to $14.2 million, up from $10.2 million in 2010.

NewStar said total funded loan origination volume was $257 million in the fourth quarter and $858 million for the full year compared to $190 million in the third quarter and $572 million in 2010. The company noted asset-based lending and equipment finance businesses originated $29 million in the fourth quarter, or 15% of new loan volume retained on the balance sheet.

The following highlights were excerpted from NewStar’s news release:

  • The managed loan portfolio increased 3% in the fourth quarter and 9% for the full year 2011 to $2.4 billion as of December 31, 2011 reflecting the net impact of new loan origination, which was partially offset by prepayments and scheduled amortization of existing loans.

  • Assets managed for third party institutional investors increased 4% in the fourth quarter and 15% for the year to approximately $518 million at December 31, 2011 compared to $452 million at December 31, 2010.

  • Increased the size of a warehouse credit facility with Wells Fargo from $125 million to $150 million. Increased available liquidity by $25 million through an amendment of a credit facility with Fortress Credit effective January 27, 2012, increasing the size from $100 million to $125 million and extending the effective maturity by two years.

    “I am excited about the company’s performance in the fourth quarter. We finished 2011 in a strong position with solid results across all aspects of the business. We also continued to gain momentum with customers in the marketplace and added balance sheet capacity to meet increasing loan demand,” said Tim Conway, NewStar’s chairman and CEO. “Our financial results reflected strong new business volume and further improvement in our credit performance. Increased loan volume drove loan growth of 8% despite high levels of run-off during the year,” Conway added.

    To read the full NewStar Financial news release: click here.