Staff report

NILES — First Niles Financial Inc., the holding company for Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Niles, last week reported its first-quarter results ending March 31.

Headquartered at 55 N. Main St., the company said it recorded net income of $88,000 compared to $108,000 for the same period in 2024, a decrease of $20,000.

Return on average assets for the quarter was 0.22% as compared to 0.28% one year ago. Primary earnings per share for the three months was $0.06, a decrease of $0.02 in 2024.

After accounting for loan losses, First Niles said net interest income for the first quarter totaled $865,000, compared to $821,000 for the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $44,000, or 5.4%. Total interest income was $2 million for the three months. That marked a $149,000 increase from the same period in 2024.

Interest expense was $1.16 million in the 2025 first quarter, an $81,000 increase from the same period one year prior. The provision for loan losses for the quarter was negative $29,000 as compared to negative $53,000 during the same period a year ago.

Noninterest income for the first quarter of 2025 was $1.12 million, as compared to $676,000 for the same period in 2024, an increase of $442,000, or 65.4%.

First Niles said the increase in noninterest income primarily was attributable to an increase in revenue from mortgage banking activities at the Union Capital Mortgage Corporation subsidiary.