Hello, welcome to the annual meeting of shareholders of FVCBankcorp, Inc. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. During the meeting, we will have a question and answer session. You can submit questions or comments at any time by clicking on the Q&A tab. It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to David W. Pijor, Chairman and CEO of FVCBankcorp, Inc. Mr. Pijor, the floor is yours.
Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is David Pijor. I am the Chairman and CEO of FVCBankcorp, Inc. It is my honor and privilege to welcome each of you to this, the annual meeting of shareholders of FVCBankcorp. I will serve as chair of the annual meeting. Since it is after 4:30 P.M., I would like to call the meeting to order. Brandon Driver of the company's independent registered public accounting firm of Yount, Hyde & Barbour is attending the meeting today. Also present are Scott Richter and Ben McCall, the company's legal counsel from the law firm of Williams Mullen. Before proceeding to the business of the meeting, I would like to thank each of you for attending this annual meeting today. In addition, I'd like to introduce your bank's executive management team. Patricia Ferrick is our President. Jennifer Deacon, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Michael G. Nassy, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer. Alissa Curry Briggs, Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer. Michelle L. Buckles is our Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer. James C. Elliott, Executive Vice President and Commercial Lending Executive. Sharon L. Jackson is our Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer. Sorry, Steffany Watson, Executive Vice President and Chief Services Officer. Jennifer Deacon will act as the Inspector of Elections for this meeting. The agenda at this meeting consists of, first, the formal determination of a quorum, and second, the consideration of three items. First one, the election of directors. Secondly, the approval of the compensation of the company's named executive officers as disclosed in the proxy statement. Three, the ratification of Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C. as the company's independent registered public accounting firm to audit the 2026 financial statements of the company.
In a few moments, I will ask Ms. Deacon to report on the number of shareholders represented in person or by proxy at this meeting. As we proceed with the business of the meeting, the votes will be computed, and Ms. Deacon will report the votes to me. Thank you for voting early. This has been a great help to us. Let me point out that if you have already voted by proxy, it will simplify the vote count if you would allow your proxy to remain in effect since it has already been tabulated. Accordingly, shareholders who have already mailed or electronically submitted a proxy are requested not to vote again unless they wish to change their vote from the way they marked their proxies. If any shareholder in attendance today intends to vote during the meeting, they may do so now as shown on your screen.
The polls for voting are now open through the electronic web portal. Ms. Deacon will now report on the mailing of the notice of this meeting and the presence of a quorum.
Thank you, David. This meeting is held pursuant to printed notice mailed out on April 7th, 2026, to each shareholder of record on March 26th, 2026, who is entitled to vote. A list of shareholders entitled to vote at this meeting is available on the web portal to shareholders who have logged into the meeting with an authenticated control number. All documents concerning the call and notice of the meeting, including the secretary's affidavit concerning mailing, will be filed with the records of the meeting. The count of holders of shares of the company's common stock immediately prior to the commencement of this meeting indicated that the holders of 15,551,064 shares of the company's common stock were in attendance at the meeting or represented by proxy. This represents 86.51% and a majority of the total votes eligible to be voted at this meeting and a quorum.
Thank you, Jennifer. I hereby declare a quorum present at the meeting. This meeting is duly constituted and officially convened. I would now like to proceed with the business of this annual meeting. There are three items for consideration. The first item is the election of directors. The shareholders have received copies of the proxy statement, which includes information regarding the proposed directors. The following individuals have been nominated to serve as directors of FVCBankcorp, Inc. until the 2027 annual meeting of shareholders, or until their successors have been elected and qualified. Marc N. Duber, Patricia A. Ferrick, L. Burwell Gunn, Meena Krishnan, Scott Laughlin, David W. Pijor, Devin Satz, Lawrence W. Schwartz, Sidney G. Simmonds, Daniel M. Testa, Philip R. Wills III, Steven M. Wiltse. There were no other nominations made in accordance with the bylaws. Therefore, I declare that nominations for directors are closed.
Are there any questions concerning this first item? You may submit questions or comments at any time by clicking on the Q&A tab. Seeing no questions, we will turn to the second matter. The second item for consideration is the non-binding resolution that the shareholders of FVCBankcorp, Inc. approve the compensation of the company's named executive officers as disclosed in the proxy statement pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Are there any questions relating to this item? As there were no questions, we turn to the third and final matter. The third item for consideration is the ratification of the appointment of Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C. as the company's independent registered public accounting firm to audit the financial statements of the company for the year ending December 31st, 2026. The proxy materials contain information regarding Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C.
Are there any questions relating to this item? I've received no questions on this matter. I hereby declare the polls closed. Will the Inspector of Elections please report the final results of the voting?
The ballots and proxies have been counted. The nominees for director have each been elected by a majority of the shares voted for this proposal. The non-binding resolution that the shareholders of FVCBankcorp, Inc. approve the compensation of the company's named executive officers as disclosed in the proxy statement pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been approved by a majority of the shares voted for this proposal. The appointment of Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C. has been ratified by the affirmative vote of the shares voted for this proposal.
Thank you, Jennifer. I hereby declare that all the director nominees have been duly elected. The resolution that the shareholders of FVCBankcorp, Inc. approve the compensation of the named executive officers has been ratified, and the appointment of Yount, Hyde & Barbour, P.C. has been ratified. I would now like to briefly report on the financial performance of the company for 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. Slide three. The company and FVCbank has had a strong calendar 2025 and first quarter 2026. Slide three of the deck indicates the newest physical location of FVCbank. I am pleased to report that in May of 2026, FVCbank opened a loan production office in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Heading up our team in Virginia Beach is Terri Ruby, a lifelong resident of the area.
Terri has worked there for her entire banking career and brings extensive experience in market expansion, business development, and treasury services. Terri's background includes leadership roles at Blue Ridge Bank, Virginia Community Bank, Monarch Bank, and Fulton Bank, where she consistently drove growth and profitability. Slide three lists several important financial highlights. As of March 31st, 2024, your bank reported total assets of $2.34 billion, a 4% increase from the same period in 2025. Notably, the bank's return on average assets reached 1.17%, while our return on average equity reached 10.4% at March 31st, 2026. The bank's net interest margin increased for the ninth consecutive quarter, reaching 3.26% at March 31st, 2026. This represents a 15% increase over the prior year's first quarter number. The bank's tangible book value per share increased at $14.06, a 10.3% increase over the prior year's first quarter numbers. Slide four, please.
Slide four presents a number of technologies employed by your bank. Much of the bank's improved financial performance is the direct result of our disciplined focus on implementing strategically aligned technologies. Slide four lists some of these technologies. Our lending functions benefit from a number of cutting-edge technologies which serve to create efficiencies internally and for our many borrowers. I note specifically our automated borrowing base certification tool used by our government contractor clients to efficiently manage their operating lines of credit. Our automated warehouse lending platform, which allows us to manage a very large number of loan transactions under our warehouse facilities. Last year, for example, we processed over 1,000 loans totaling $427 million using this facility.
With respect to treasury functionality, we provide a broad suite of technologies from online deposit account opening to a digital platform that allows the bank's property management and 1031 exchange clients an efficient solution to handle third-party accounts and sub-accounts. Finally, we effectively use enterprise-wide tools to improve our back-office functions. For example, FVCbank, through our partnership with KlariVis, obtains bank-wide dashboards to enable our employees to have immediate access to client data for better communications with our clients. Slide five, please. Slide page five contains financial information specifically regarding our most recent quarter ending March 31st, 2026. During this quarter, we reported net income increase 24% compared to the year ago quarter. Our diluted earnings per share were $0.35 for the quarter ending March 31st, 2026, compared to $0.28 per share for the quarter ending March 31st last year, an increase of 25%.
The return on average assets for the quarter increased to 1.17% from 0.94% reported for the year ago quarter. Our core deposits increased 7% from March 31st, 2025, while our wholesale deposits decreased by 9% at March 31st, 2026. Slide 6. Both slides six and seven illustrate our bank's strong record of growth and profitability. Our total loans have increased annually since 2024 at a compounded growth rate of 5.3%, while our total deposits have increased over the same period by a compounded growth rate of 5.5%. Slide seven shows our recent net interest margin of 3.26% for the first quarter of 2026. Our net interest margin has increased over the last consecutive nine calendar quarters.
We also note on slide page seven that our bank's efficiency ratio has improved substantially over the last three years, from a high of 64% in calendar 2023 to our current efficiency ratio of 54%. Slide eight. Finally, it is a special privilege to announce our bank's annual Citizenship Award. Each year at this time, FVCbank identifies one or more non-profit organizations to award funds from the L. Burwell Gunn Citizenship Award to support these organizations' ongoing efforts to help the communities we all serve. This year's recipient is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Northern Virginia. Its mission is to serve Northern Virginia individuals, family members, and friends affected by mental health challenges through awareness, education, support, advocacy, and collaboration with our community partners.
Founded in 1977 by four families with adult children experiencing mental illness, NAMI Northern Virginia is the largest affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Virginia. Since its founding, NAMI NOVA has fought for families and individuals impacted by mental health conditions. It promotes community wellness, breaks down barriers to mental health care, and provides support and expertise for families, professionals, and individuals throughout Northern Virginia. At NAMI Northern Virginia, they have the courage to believe that healing is possible and believe in the power of hope. There is no other business to be conducted. This concludes the formal business of our meeting. At this time, I'd welcome any questions. Again, you can submit questions or comments by clicking on the Q&A tab.
I would like again to express my sincere appreciation to those shareholders who have joined us today, as well as to those who have submitted their proxies but were not able to attend. The continued success of our bank is attributable in large part by the continued support of our shareholders. I hereby declare this meeting adjourned.
This concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.