UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

Form 10-K

 

 

Commission file number 0-15752

 

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number including area code:

(781) 391-4000

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

 

Class A Common Stock, $1.00 par value

(Title of class)

 

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes  o      No  þ

 

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Yes  o      No  þ

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes  þ      No  o

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.   o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer  o      Accelerated filer  þ      Non-accelerated filer  o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes  o      No  þ

 

State the aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting and nonvoting stock held by nonaffiliates, computed using the closing price as reported on Nasdaq as of June 30, 2005 was $106,196,298.

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock as of February 28, 2006:

 

Class A Common Stock, $1.00 par value 3,479,788 Shares
Class B Common Stock, $1.00 par value 2,061,300 Shares

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

List hereunder the following documents if incorporated by reference and the Part of the Form 10-K (e.g., Part I, Part II, etc.) into which the document is incorporated: (1) Any annual report to security holders; (2) Any proxy or information statement; and (3) Any prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) or (c) under the Securities Act of 1933. The listed documents should be clearly described for identification purposes (e.g., annual report to security holders for fiscal year ended December 24, 1980).

 

 

CENTURY BANCORP INC.

 

FORM 10-K

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

The Company

 

Certain statements contained herein are not based on historical facts and are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements, which are based on various assumptions (some of which are beyond the Company’s control), may be identified by a reference to a future period or periods, or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate” “continue” or similar terms or variations on those terms, or the negative of these terms. Actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, those related to the economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which the Company operates, competitive products and pricing, fiscal and monetary policies of the U.S. Government, changes in government regulations affecting financial institutions, including regulatory fees and capital requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates, acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses, credit risk management, asset/liability management, the financial and securities market and the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity.

 

The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

 

Century Bancorp, Inc. (together with its bank subsidiary, unless the context otherwise requires, the “Company”), is a Massachusetts state chartered bank holding company headquartered in Medford, Massachusetts. The Company is a Massachusetts corporation formed in 1972 and has one banking subsidiary (the “Bank”): Century Bank and Trust Company, formed in 1969. The Company had total assets of approximately $1.7 billion on December 31, 2005. The Company presently operates 23 banking offices in 16 cities and towns in Massachusetts ranging from Braintree in the south to Beverly in the north. The Bank’s customers consist primarily of small and medium-sized businesses and retail customers in these communities and surrounding areas, as well as local governments and institutions throughout Massachusetts.

 

The Company’s results of operations are largely dependent on net interest income, which is the difference between the interest earned on loans and securities and interest paid on deposits and borrowings. The results of operations are also affected by the level of income/fees from loans, deposits, as well as operating expenses, the provision for loan losses, the impact of federal and state income taxes and the relative levels of interest rates and economic activity.

 

The Company offers a wide range of services to commercial enterprises, state and local governments and agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals. It emphasizes service to small and medium-sized businesses and retail customers in its market area. The Company makes commercial loans, real estate and construction loans, consumer loans, and accepts savings, time and demand deposits. In addition, the Company offers to its corporate and institutional customers automated lockbox collection services, cash management services and account reconciliation services, and actively promotes the marketing of these services to the municipal market. Also, the Company provides full service securities brokerage services through its subsidiary, Century Financial Services, Inc. in conjunction with Commonwealth Equity Services, Inc., a full service securities brokerage business.

 

The Company is also a provider of financial services including cash management, transaction processing and short term financing to municipalities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Company has deposit relationships with approximately 30% of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

 

During February 2003 the Company began construction of an addition to its corporate headquarters building. The property is located adjacent to its current headquarters in Medford, Massachusetts and provides additional corporate office space and an expanded banking floor. The building was substantially completed during the fourth quarter of 2004 and $14,500,000 has been expended in connection with this expansion. The capital expenditure has provided a five-story addition containing approximately 50 thousand square feet of office and branch banking space. Occupancy costs have increased by approximately $960,000 for 2005 as a result of the addition.

On March 21, 2003, the Company completed the acquisition of Capital Crossing Bank’s branch office at 1220 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and substantially all of the retail deposits at Capital Crossing’s main office at 101 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Century closed the Chestnut Hill branch and transferred all customers of the branch to its nearby branch office at 1184 Boylston Street, Brookline, Massachusetts. In addition, Century transferred all of the retail deposits from Capital Crossing’s Summer Street branch to its branch at 24 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts.

 

The acquisition included $192,700,000 in deposits. The acquisition also included a premium paid to Capital Crossing of approximately $3,900,000. This premium was subsequently reduced by a gain of $395,000 from the sale of the acquired Chestnut Hill branch and a rebate of $282,000 for closed accounts at the Boston office.

 

During the third quarter of 2005, the Company announced plans to continue its stock repurchase plan. Under the program, the Company is authorized to repurchase up to 300,000 shares, or less than 9%, of Century Bancorp Class A Common Stock. The program expires on July 11, 2006.

 

In 2005, the Company opened a new branch location on State Street in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2004, the Company opened one branch on Albany Street in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

During the fourth quarter of 2004, the Company announced that it entered into an Investment Management Agreement with Blackrock Financial Management, Inc. for the Company’s Available-For-Sale securities portfolio. During 2005 the Company began experiencing strong loan growth, and believes that reinvesting the investment cash flows in loans will help to achieve improvements in its yield. The expense related to this contract ended June 30, 2005 and the contract terminated January 31, 2006.

 

On December 2, 2004, Century Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) consummated the sale of a trust preferred securities offering, in which it issued $36,083,000 of subordinated debt securities due 2034 to Century Bancorp Capital Trust II, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Trust”) and an unconsolidated subsidiary formed by the Company, and the Trust simultaneously issued $35,000,000 of trust preferred securities (35,000 trust preferred securities at a liquidation amount of $1,000 per security). The Trust also issued 1,083 common securities to the Company for a purchase price of $1,000 per common security. No underwriting commissions were paid in connection with the issuances. All of the securities were issued in a private placement exempt from registration under 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

 

The terms of the debt securities are governed by an Indenture dated December 2, 2004 between the Company and Wilmington Trust Company, as Trustee. The debt securities accrue interest (which is payable quarterly) at an initial rate of 6.65% for the first ten years and then convert to the three month LIBOR plus a margin of 1.87%. The debt securities are not redeemable by the Company during the first ten years, absent certain changes in tax, investment company or bank regulatory statutes or regulations.

 

Also, the Company, through its subsidiary, Century Bancorp Capital Trust, announced the redemption of their 8.30% Trust Preferred Securities, with a redemption date of January 10, 2005. The total amount of this redemption was $29,639,000.

 

Availability of Company Filings

 

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Sections 13 and 15(d), periodic and current reports must be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The public may read and copy any materials filed with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0030. The Company electronically files the following reports with the SEC: Form 10-K (Annual Report), Form 10-Q (Quarterly Report), Form 11-K (Annual Report for Employees’ Stock Purchase and Savings Plans), Form 8-K (Report of Unscheduled Material Events) and, as required, Form S-4, S-3 and 8-A (Registration Statements). The Company may file additional forms. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports and other information regarding issuers, including the Company, that file electronically with the SEC, at www.sec.gov , in which all forms filed electronically may be accessed. Additionally, our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K with the SEC and additional shareholder information is available free of charge on the Company’s website: www.century-bank.com .

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2005, the Company had 288 full-time and 103 part-time employees. The Company’s employees are not represented by any collective bargaining unit. The Company believes that its employee relations are good.

 

Financial Services Modernization

 

On November 12, 1999, President Clinton signed into law The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“Gramm-Leach”) which significantly altered banking laws in the United States. Gramm Leach enables combinations among banks, securities firms and insurance companies beginning March 11, 2000. As a result of Gramm Leach, many of the depression-era laws that restricted these affiliations and other activities that may be engaged in by banks and bank holding companies, were repealed. Under Gramm-Leach, bank holding companies are permitted to offer their customers virtually any type of financial service that is financial in nature or incidental thereto, including banking, securities underwriting, insurance (both underwriting and agency) and merchant banking.

 

In order to engage in these new financial activities, a bank holding company must qualify and register with the Federal Reserve Board as a “financial holding company” by demonstrating that each of its bank subsidiaries is “well capitalized,” “well managed,” and has at least a “satisfactory” rating under the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (“CRA”). The Company has not elected to become a financial holding company under Gramm-Leach.

 

These new financial activities authorized by Gramm-Leach may also be engaged in by a “financial subsidiary” of a national or state bank, except for insurance or annuity underwriting, insurance company portfolio investments, real estate investment and development and merchant banking, which must be conducted in a financial holding company. In order for the new financial activities to be engaged in by a financial subsidiary of a national or state bank, Gramm-Leach requires each of the parent bank (and any bank affiliates) to be well capitalized and well managed; the aggregate consolidated assets of all of that bank’s financial subsidiaries may not exceed the lesser of 45% of its consolidated total assets or $50 billion; the bank must have at least a satisfactory CRA rating; and, if that bank is one of the 100 largest banks, it must meet certain financial rating or other comparable requirements.

 

Gramm-Leach establishes a system of functional regulation, under which the federal banking agencies will regulate the banking activities of financial holding companies and banks’ financial subsidiaries, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will regulate their securities activities, and state insurance regulators will regulate their insurance activities. Gramm-Leach also provides new protections against the transfer and use by financial institutions of consumers’ nonpublic, personal information.

 

Holding Company Regulation

 

The Company is a bank holding company as defined by the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “Holding Company Act”) and is registered as such with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “FRB”), which is responsible for administration of the Holding Company Act. Although the Company may meet the qualifications for electing to become a financial holding company under Gramm-Leach, the Company has elected to retain its pre-Gramm-Leach status for the present time under the Holding Company Act. As required by the Holding Company Act, the Company files with the FRB an annual report regarding its financial condition and operations, management and intercompany relationships of the Company and the Bank. It is also subject to examination by the FRB and must obtain FRB approval before (i) acquiring direct or indirect ownership or control of more than 5% of the voting stock of any bank, unless it already owns or controls a majority of the voting stock of that bank, (ii) acquiring all or substantially all of the assets of a bank, except through a subsidiary which is a bank, or (iii) merging or consolidating with any other bank holding company. A bank holding company must also give the FRB prior written notice before purchasing or redeeming its equity securities, if the gross consideration for the purchase or redemption, when aggregated with the net consideration paid by the company for all such purchases or redemptions during the preceding 12 months, is equal to 10% or more of the Company’s consolidated net worth.

 

The Holding Company Act prohibits a bank holding company, with certain exceptions, from (i) acquiring direct or indirect ownership or control of more than 5% of any class of voting shares of any company which is not a bank or a bank holding company, or (ii) engaging in any activity other than managing or controlling banks, or

furnishing services to or performing services for its subsidiaries. A bank holding company may own, however, shares of a company engaged in activities which the FRB has determined are so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto.

 

The Company and its subsidiaries are examined by federal and state regulators. The FRB has responsibility for holding company activities and performed a review as of December 2003.

 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991

 

On December 19, 1991, the FDIC Improvement Act of 1991 (the “1991 Act”) was enacted. This legislation provides for, among other things: enhanced federal supervision of depository institutions, including greater authority for the appointment of a conservator or receiver for undercapitalized institutions; the establishment of risk-based deposit insurance premiums; a requirement that the federal banking agencies amend their risk-based capital requirements to include components for interest-rate risk, concentration of credit risk, and the risk of nontraditional activities; expanded authority for cross-industry mergers and acquisitions; mandated consumer protection disclosures with respect to deposit accounts; and imposed restrictions on the activities of state-chartered banks, including the Bank.

 

Provisions of the 1991 Act relating to the activities of state-chartered banks significantly impact the way the Company conducts its business. In this regard, the 1991 Act provides that insured state banks, such as the Bank, may not engage as principal in any activity that is not permissible for a national bank, unless the FDIC has determined that the activity would pose no significant risk to the BIF and the state bank is in compliance with applicable capital standards. Activities of subsidiaries of insured state banks are similarly restricted to those activities permissible for subsidiaries of national banks, unless the FDIC has determined that the activity would pose no significant risk to the BIF and the state bank is in compliance with applicable capital standards.

 

Interstate Banking

 

The Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, as amended (the “Interstate Banking Act”) generally permits bank holding companies to acquire banks in any state and preempts all state laws restricting the ownership by a bank holding company of banks in more than one state. The Interstate Banking Act also permits a bank to merge with an out-of-state bank and convert any offices into branches of the resulting bank if both states have not opted out of interstate branching; permits a bank to acquire branches from an out-of-state bank if the law of the state where the branches are located permits the interstate branch acquisition; and operated de novo interstate branches whenever the host state opts-in to de novo branching. Bank holding companies and banks seeking to engage in transactions authorized by the Interstate Banking Act must be adequately capitalized and managed.

 

USA PATRIOT Act

 

Under Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act, also known as the “International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001”, all financial institutions are required in general to identify their customers, adopt formal and comprehensive anti-money laundering programs, scrutinize or prohibit altogether certain transactions of special concern, and be prepared to respond to inquiries from U.S. law enforcement agencies concerning their customers and their transactions. Additional information-sharing among financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement authorities is encouraged by the presence of an exemption from the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach Act for financial institutions that comply with this provision and the authorization of the Secretary of the Treasurer to adopt rules to further encourage cooperation and information-sharing. The effectiveness of a financial institution in combating money laundering activities is a factor to be considered in any application submitted by the financial institution under the Bank Merger Act.

 

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

 

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, signed into law July 30, 2002, addresses, among other issues, corporate governance, auditor independence and accounting standards, executive compensation, insider loans, whistleblower protection and enhanced and timely disclosure of corporate information. The SEC has adopted a substantial number of

implementing rules and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. has adopted corporate governance rules that have been approved by the SEC and are applicable to the Company. The proposed changes are intended to allow stockholders to monitor more effectively the performance of companies and management. As directed by Section 302(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are each required to certify that the Company’s quarterly and annual reports do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact. This requirement has several parts, including certification that these officers are responsible for establishing, maintaining and regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting; that they have made certain disclosures to the Company’s auditors and the Board of Directors about the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting, and that they have included information in the Company’s quarterly and annual reports about their evaluation of the Company’s internal controls and whether there have been significant changes in the Company’s internal disclosure controls or in other factors that could significantly affect controls subsequent to the evaluation and whether there have been any significant changes in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting that have materially affected or reasonably likely to materially affect the Company’s internal controls over finance reporting, and compliance with certain other disclosure objectives. Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires an additional certification that each periodic report containing financial statements fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that the information in the report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial conditions and results of operations of the Company.

 

Competition

 

The Company experiences substantial competition in attracting deposits and making loans from commercial banks, thrift institutions and other enterprises such as insurance companies and mutual funds. These competitors include several major commercial banks whose greater resources may afford them a competitive advantage by enabling them to maintain numerous branch offices and mount extensive advertising campaigns. A number of these competitors are not subject to the regulatory oversight that the Company is subject to, which increases these competitors’ flexibility.

 

The risk factors that may affect the Company’s performance and results of operations include the following:

 

(i) the Company’s business is dependent upon general economic conditions in Massachusetts;

 

(ii) the Company’s earnings depend to a great extent upon the level of net interest income generated by the Company, and therefore the Company’s results of operations may be adversely affected by increases or decreases in interest rates or by the shape of the yield curve;

 

(iii) the banking business is highly competitive and the profitability of the Company depends upon the Company’s ability to attract loans and deposits in Massachusetts, where the Company competes with a variety of traditional banking companies, some of which have vastly greater resources, and nontraditional institutions such as credit unions and finance companies;

 

(iv) at December 31, 2005, approximately 57.5% of the Company’s loan portfolio was comprised of commercial and commercial real estate loans, exposing the Company to the risks inherent in financings based upon analyses of credit risk, the value of underlying collateral, including real estate, and other more intangible factors, which are considered in making commercial loans;

 

(v) at December 31, 2005, approximately 32.3% of the Company’s loan portfolio was comprised of residential real estate loans, exposing the Company to the risks inherent in financings based upon analyses of credit risk and the value of underlying collateral. Accordingly, the Company’s profitability may be negatively impacted by errors in risk analyses, by loan defaults and the ability of certain borrowers to repay such loans may be adversely affected by any downturn in general economic conditions;

 

(vi) acts or threats of terrorism and actions taken by the United States or other governments as a result of such acts or threats, including possible military action, could further adversely affect business and economic conditions in the United States of America generally and in the Company’s markets, which could adversely

affect the Company’s financial performance and that of the Company’s borrowers and on the financial markets and the price of the Company’s Class A common stock;

 

(vii) changes in the extensive laws, regulations and policies governing bank holding companies and their subsidiaries could alter the Company’s business environment or affect the Company’s operations; and

 

(viii) the potential need to adapt to industry changes in information technology systems, on which the Company is highly dependent to secure bank and customer financial information, could present operational issues, require significant capital spending or impact the Company’s reputation.

 

These factors, as well as general economic and market conditions in the United States of America, may materially and adversely affect the Company’s performance, results of operations and the market price of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock.

 

The SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance uses a comment letter process to communicate SEC staff concerns and potential deficiencies to issuers in order to improve disclosure. No comments received by the Company from the SEC during the year ended December 31, 2005 remain unresolved.

 

The Company owns its main banking office, headquarters, and operations center in Medford, which have just been expanded, and 12 of the 23 other facilities in which its branch offices are located. The remaining offices are occupied under leases expiring on various dates from 2006 to 2026. The Company believes that its banking offices are in good condition.

 

The Company and its subsidiaries are parties to various claims and lawsuits arising in the course of their normal business activities. Although the ultimate outcome of these suits cannot be ascertained at this time, it is the opinion of management that none of these matters, even if it resolved adversely to the Company, will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position.

 

No matters were submitted to a vote of the Company’s Stockholders during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005.

 

(a) The Class A Common Stock of the Company is traded on the NASDAQ National Market system under the symbol “CNBKA.” The price range of the Company’s Class A common stock since January 1, 2004 is shown on page 8. The Company’s Class B Common Stock is not traded on NASDAQ or any other national securities exchange.

 

Generally speaking, the shares of Class A Common Stock are not entitled to vote on any matter, including in the election of Company Directors, but, in limited circumstances, may be entitled to vote as a class on certain extraordinary transactions, including any merger or consolidation (other than one in which the Company is the surviving corporation or one which by law may be approved by the directors without any stockholder vote) or the sale, lease, or exchange of all or substantially all of the property and assets of the Company. Since the vote of a majority of the shares of Class B Common Stock, voting as a class, is required to approve certain extraordinary corporate transactions, the holders of Class B Common Stock have the power to prevent any takeover of the Company not approved by them.

 

(b) Approximate number of equity security holders as of December 31, 2005.

 

 

(c) Under the Company’s Articles of Organization, the holders of the Class A Common Stock are entitled to receive dividends per share equal to at least 200% of dividends paid, if any, from time to time, on each share of Class B Common Stock.

 

The following table shows the dividends paid by the Company on the Class A and Class B Common Stock for the periods indicated.

 

 

As a bank holding company, the Company’s ability to pay dividends is dependent in part upon the receipt of dividends from the Bank, which is subject to certain restrictions on the payment of dividends. A Massachusetts trust company may pay dividends out of net profits from time to time, provided that either (i) the trust company’s capital stock and surplus account equal an aggregate of at least 10% of its deposit liabilities, or (ii) the amount of its surplus account is equal to at least the amount of its capital account.

 

The information required herein is shown on page 9.

 

The information required herein is shown on pages 11 through 22.

 

The information required herein is shown on page 18 and 19.

 

The information required herein is shown on pages 23 through 57.

 

None.

ITEM 9A.   CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

 

The principal Executive Officer and principal Financial Officer have evaluated the disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2005. Based on this evaluation, the principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures effectively ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s filings and submissions with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Exchange Act, is accumulated and reported to Management (including the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer) and is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the Company has reviewed its internal controls and there have been no significant changes in its internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect those controls subsequent to the date of its last evaluation. Management’s report on internal control over financial reporting is shown on page 57. The attestation report of the registered public accounting firm is shown on page 56.

ITEM 9B.   OTHER INFORMATION

 

None.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition

 

Forward-looking Statements

 

Certain statements contained herein are not based on historical facts and are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements, which are based on various assumptions (some of which are beyond the Company’s control), may be identified by reference to a future period or periods, or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “continue” or similar terms or variations on those terms, or the negative of these terms. Actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, those related to the economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which the Company operates, competitive products and pricing, fiscal and monetary polices of the U.S. Government, changes in government regulations affecting financial institutions, including regulatory fees and capital requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates, acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses, credit risk management, asset/liability management, the financial and securities markets and the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity.

 

The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

 

Overview

 

Century Bancorp, Inc. (together with its bank subsidiary, unless the context otherwise requires, the “Company”), is a Massachusetts state chartered bank holding company headquartered in Medford, Massachusetts. The Company is a Massachusetts corporation formed in 1972 and has one banking subsidiary (the “Bank”): Century Bank and Trust Company formed in 1969. The Company had total assets of $1.7 billion on December 31, 2005. The Company presently operates 23 banking offices in 16 cities and towns in Massachusetts ranging from Braintree in the south to Beverly in the north. The Banks customers consist primarily of small and medium-sized businesses and retail customers in these communities and surrounding areas, as well as local governments and institutions throughout Massachusetts.

 

The Company’s results of operations are largely dependent on net interest income, which is the difference between the interest earned on loans and securities and interest paid on deposits and borrowings. The results of operations are also affected by the level of income/fees from loans, deposits, as well as operating expenses, the provision for loan losses, the impact of federal and state income taxes and the relative levels of interest rates and economic activity.

 

The Company offers a wide range of services to commercial enterprises, state and local governments and agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals. It emphasizes service to small and medium-sized businesses and retail customers in its market area. The Company makes commercial loans, real estate and construction loans, consumer loans, and accepts savings, time and demand deposits. In addition, the Company offers to its corporate and institutional customers automated lockbox collection services, cash management services and account reconciliation services, and actively promotes the marketing of these services to the municipal market. Also, the Company provides full service securities brokerage services through its subsidiary, Century Financial Services, Inc. in conjunction with Commonwealth Equity Services, Inc., a full service securities brokerage business.

 

The Company is also a provider of financial services including cash management, transaction processing and short term financing to municipalities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Company has deposit relationships with approximately 30% of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

 

Century Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) had net income of $6,880,000 for the year ended December 31, 2005, compared with net income of $8,881,000 for year ended December 31, 2004 and net income of $11,680,000 for the year ended December 31, 2003. Basic earnings per share were $1.24 in 2005, compared to $1.61 in 2004 and $2.12 in 2003. Diluted earnings per share were $1.24 in 2005, compared to $1.60 in 2004 and $2.11 in 2003. The

Company’s earnings in 2005 were negatively impacted by a decrease in net interest income, increases in salary expense as well as costs associated with the Company’s new addition to its corporate headquarters building and the addition of a lockbox image system. The Company believes that the net interest margin will continue to be challenged as rates continue to rise. This is mainly the result of deposit and borrowing pricing that has the potential to increase faster than corresponding asset categories. During 2003, the Company’s earnings were also negatively affected by a net tax charge of $1,183,000 associated with the Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”) settlement. This charge was the result of an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (“DOR”) settling a dispute related to taxes that the DOR claimed were owed from the Company’s REIT.

 

Total assets were $1,728,769,000 at December 31, 2005, a decrease of 5.7% from total assets of $1,833,701,000 on December 31, 2004.

 

On December 31, 2005, stockholders equity totaled $103,201,000, compared with $104,773,000 on December 31, 2004. Book value per share decreased to $18.64 at December 31, 2005 from $18.93 on December 31, 2004.

 

During February 2003, the Company began construction of an addition to its corporate headquarters building. The property is located adjacent to its current headquarters in Medford, Massachusetts and provides additional corporate office space and an expanded banking floor. The building was substantially completed during the fourth quarter of 2004 and $14,500,000 has been expended in connection with this expansion. The capital expenditure has provided a five-story addition containing approximately 50,000 square feet of office and branch banking space. Occupancy costs have increased by approximately $960,000 for 2005 as a result of the addition.

 

On March 21, 2003, the Company completed the acquisition of Capital Crossing Banks branch office at 1220 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and substantially all of the retail deposits at Capital Crossings main office at 101 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Century closed the Chestnut Hill branch and transferred all customers of the branch to its nearby branch office at 1184 Boylston Street, Brookline, Massachusetts. In addition, Century transferred all of the retail deposits from Capital Crossings Summer Street branch to its branch at 24 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The acquisition included $192,700,000 in deposits. The acquisition also included a premium paid to Capital Crossing of approximately $3,900,000. This premium was subsequently reduced by a gain of $395,000 from the sale of the acquired Chestnut Hill branch and a rebate of $282,000 for closed accounts at the Boston office.

 

During the third quarter of 2005, the Company announced plans to continue its stock repurchase plan. Under the program, the Company is authorized to repurchase up to 300,000 shares, or less than 9%, of Century Bancorp Class A Common Stock. The program expires on July 11, 2006.

 

In 2005, the Company opened a new branch location on State Street in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2004, the Company opened one branch on Albany Street in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

During the fourth quarter of 2004, the Company announced that it entered into an Investment Management Agreement with BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. for the Company’s Available-For-Sale securities portfolio. During 2005 the Company began experiencing strong loan growth, and believes that reinvesting the investment cash flows in loans will help to achieve improvements in its yield. The expense related to this contract ended on June 30, 2005 and the contract terminated January 31, 2006.

 

Also during the fourth quarter of 2004, the Company consummated the sale of a trust preferred securities offering, in which it issued $36,083,000 of subordinated debt securities due 2034 to its newly formed unconsolidated subsidiary Century Bancorp Capital Trust II. Century Bancorp Capital Trust II issued 35,000 shares of Cumulative Trust Preferred Securities with a liquidation value of $1,000 per share. These securities pay dividends at an annualized rate of 6.65% for the first ten years and then convert to the three-month LIBOR rate plus 1.87% for the remaining twenty years. The total amount of this issuance was $36,083,000. The Company is using the proceeds primarily for general business purposes. Also, the Company, through its subsidiary, Century Bancorp Capital Trust, announced the redemption of their 8.30% Trust Preferred Securities, with a redemption date of January 10, 2005. The total amount of this redemption was $29,639,000.

Critical Accounting Policies

 

Accounting policies involving significant judgments and assumptions by management, which have, or could have, a material impact on the carrying value of certain assets and impact income, are considered critical accounting policies. The Company considers the following to be its critical accounting policies: allowance for loan losses and impairment of investment securities. There have been no significant changes in the methods or assumptions used in the accounting policies that require material estimates and assumptions.

 

Allowance for Loan Losses

 

Arriving at an appropriate level of allowance for loan losses necessarily involves a high degree of judgment. Management maintains an allowance for loan losses to absorb losses inherent in the loan portfolio. The allowance is based on assessments of the probable estimated losses inherent in the loan portfolio. Managements methodology for assessing the appropriateness of the allowance consists of several key elements, which include the formula allowance, specific allowances for identified problem loans and the unallocated allowance.

 

The formula allowance evaluates groups of loans to determine the allocation appropriate within each portfolio segment. Individual loans within the commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and real estate construction loan portfolio segments are assigned internal risk ratings to group them with other loans possessing similiar risk characteristics. Changes in risk grades affect the amount of the formula allowance. Risk grades are determined by reviewing current collateral value, financial information, cash flow, payment history and other relevant facts surrounding the particular credit. Provisions for losses on the remaining commercial and commercial real estate loans are based on pools of similar loans using a combination of historical loss experience and qualitative adjustments. For the residential real estate and consumer loan portfolios, the reserves are calculated by applying historical charge-off and recovery experience and qualitative adjustments to the current outstanding balance in each loan category. Loss factors are based on the Company’s historical loss experience, as well as regulatory guidelines.

 

Specific allowances for loan losses entails the assignment of allowance amounts to individual loans on the basis of loan impairment. Certain loans are evaluated individually and are judged to be impaired when management believes it is probable that the Company will not collect all the contractual interest and principle payments as scheduled in the loan agreement. Under this method, loans are selected for evaluation based upon a change in internal risk rating, occurence of delinquency, loan classification or non-accrual status. A specific allowance amount is allocated to an individual loan when such loan has been deemed impaired and when the amount of a probable loss is able to be estimated on the basis of: (a.) fair value of collateral, (b.) present value of anticipated future cash flows or (c.) the loan’s observable fair market price.

 

The unallocated allowance recognizes the model and estimation risk associated with the formula allowance and specific allowances, as well as management’s evaluation of various conditions, including business and economic conditions, delinquency trends, charge-off experience and other quality factors, the effects of which are not directly measured in the determination of the formula and specific allowances. The evaluation of the inherent loss with respect to these conditions is subject to a higher degree of uncertainly because they are not identified with specific problem credits.

 

Management has identified certain risk factors, which could impact the degree of loss sustained within the portfolio. These include: (a.) market risk factors, such as the effects of economic variability on the entire portfolio, and (b.) unique portfolio risk factors that are inherent characteristics of the Company’s loan portfolio. Market risk factors may consist of changes to general economic and business conditions that may impact the Company’s loan portfolio customer base in terms of ability to repay and that may result in changes in value of underlying collateral. Unique portfolio risk factors may include industry concentrations and geographic concentrations or trends that may exacerbate losses resulting from economic events which the Company may not be able to fully diversify out its portfolio.

 

Management believes that the allowance for loan losses is adequate. In addition, various regulatory agencies, as part of the examination process, periodically review the Company’s allowance for loan losses. Such agencies may require the Company to recognize additions to the allowance based on their judgments about information available to them at the time of their examination.

Impaired investment Securities

 

If a material decline in fair value below the amortized cost basis of an investment security is judged to be ‘‘other-than-temporary,” the cost basis of the investment is written down to fair value. The amount of the write down is included as a charge to earnings. An ‘‘other-than-temporary” impairment exists for debt securities if it is probable that the Company will be unable to collect all amounts due according to contractual terms of the security. Some factors considered for ‘‘other than temporary” impairment related to a debt security include an analysis of yield which results in a decrease in expected cash flows, whether an unrealized loss is issuer specific, whether the issuer has defaulted on scheduled interest and principal payments, whether the issuer’s current financial condition hinder its ability to make future scheduled interest and principal payments on a timely basis or whether there was downgrade in ratings by rating agencies.

 

The Company has the ability and intent to hold these investments until recovery of fair value, which may be maturity.

The following table summarizes the year to year changes in the Company’s net interest income resulting from fluctuations in interest rates and volume changes in earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities. Changes due to rate are computed by multiplying the change in rate by the prior year’s volume. Changes due to volume are computed by multiplying the change in volume by the prior year’s rate. Changes in volume and rate that cannot be separately identified have been allocated in proportion to the relationship of the absolute dollar amounts of each change.

 

 

The Company’s operating results depend primarily on net interest income and fees received for providing services. Net interest income on a fully taxable equivalent basis decreased 3.4% in 2005 to $39,991,000, compared with $41,387,000 in 2004. The decrease in net interest income for 2005 was mainly due to an 6.2% or a seventeen basis point decrease in the net interest margin. The level of interest rates, the ability of the Company’s earning assets and liabilities to adjust to changes in interest rates and the mix of the Company’s earning assets and liabilities affect net interest income. The net interest margin on a fully taxable equivalent basis decreased to 2.58% in 2005 from 2.75% in 2004, which had decreased from 3.08% in 2003. The Company believes that the net interest margin will continue to be challenged as rates continue to rise. This is mainly the result of deposit and borrowing pricing that has the potential to increase faster than corresponding asset categories.

 

Average earning assets were $1,549,745,000 in 2005, an increase of $43,030,000 or 2.9% from the average in 2004, which was 2.4% higher than the average in 2003. Total average securities, including securities available-for-sale and securities held-to-maturity were $892,745,000. The stable securities volume was mainly attributable to a continued shift in asset concentration to loans. An increase in securities rates resulted in higher

securities income, which increased 1.1% to $31,175,000. Total average loans increased 17.4% to $641,103,000 after increasing $45,424,000 in 2004. The primary reason for the increase in loans across all of the business lines is due, in large part, to the hiring of additional officers as well as an emphasis on small business loans. The increase in loan volume and increases in loan rates resulted in higher loan income, which increased by 23.6% or $7,890,000 to $41,274,000. Total loan income was $33,134,000 in 2003.

 

The Company’s sources of funds include deposits and borrowed funds. On average, deposits showed an decrease of 2.7% or $34,678,000 in 2005 after increasing by 2.0% or $25,378,000 in 2004. Deposits decreased in 2005 primarily as a result of a decrease in money market accounts, which decreased by 11% or $45,598,000. Borrowed funds and subordinated debentures increased by 37.9% in 2005 following an increase of 14.4% in 2004. The majority of the Company’s borrowed funds are borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) and retail repurchase agreements. Borrowings from the FHLB increased by approximately $69,542,000 and retail repurchase agreements decreased by $1,191,000. Interest expense totaled $32,820,000 in 2005, an increase of $9,174,000 or 38.8% from 2004 when interest expense decreased 1.2% from 2003. This increase in interest expense is due to increases in deposit and borrowed funds rates.

 

Provision for Loan Loss

 

The provision for loan losses was $600,000 in 2005, compared with $300,000 in 2004 and $450,000 in 2003. These provisions are the result of managements evaluation of the amounts and quality of the loan portfolio considering such factors as loan status, collateral values, financial condition of the borrower, the state of the economy and other relevant information. Additional provisions have been made due to growth in the loan portfolio.

 

The allowance for loan losses was $9,340,000 at December 31, 2005, compared with $9,001,000 at December 31, 2004. Expressed as a percentage of outstanding loans at year-end, the allowance was 1.35% in 2005 and 1.55% in 2004. The coverage ratio decreased mainly as a result of the continued low levels of problem assets.

 

Non-performing loans, which include all non-accruing loans and certain restructured, accruing loans, totaled $949,000 on December 31, 2005, compared with $628,000 on December 31, 2004.

 

Other Operating Income

 

During 2005, the Company continued to experience positive results in its fee-based services including fees derived from traditional banking activities such as deposit related services, its automated lockbox collection system and full service securities brokerage offered through Commonwealth Equity Services, Inc., an unaffiliated registered securities broker-dealer and investment adviser.

 

Under the lockbox program, which is not tied to extensions of credit by the Company, the Company’s customer arranges for payments of its accounts receivable to be made directly to the Company. The Company records the amounts paid to its customers, deposits the funds to the customer’s account and provides automated records of the transactions to customers. Typical customers for the lockbox service are municipalities who use it to automate tax collections, cable TV companies and other commercial enterprises.

 

Through Commonwealth Equity Services, Inc., an unaffiliated company, the Bank provides full service securities brokerage services. Registered representatives employed by the Bank offer investment advice, execute transactions and assist customers in financial and retirement planning. Commonwealth Equity Services, Inc. provides research to and supervises representatives in exchange for payment by the Bank for a fixed fee and a share in the commission revenues.

 

Total other operating income in 2005 was $10,973,000, an increase of $542,000 or 5.2% compared to 2004. This increase followed an increase of $422,000 or 4.2% in 2004, compared to 2003. Service charge income, which continues to be a major area of other operating income with $5,846,000 in 2005, saw an increase of $575,000 compared to 2004. This follows an increase of $489,000 compared to 2003. Service charges on deposit accounts increased mainly because of an increase in overdraft charges associated with a new overdraft fee protection program. Lockbox revenues totaled $2,807,000, down $143,000 in 2005 and a decrease of $236,000 in 2004. This decrease was mainly attributable to competitive pricing pressures. Through Commonwealth Equity Services, Inc.,

brokerage commissions decreased to $462,000 in 2005, from $670,000 in 2004, primarily as a result of decreased transaction volume. Brokerage commissions increased in 2004 by $91,000 mainly as a result of increased transaction volume.

 

Operating Expenses

 

Total operating expenses were $40,318,000 in 2005, compared to $37,663,000 in 2004 and $34,272,000 in 2003.

 

Salaries and employee benefits expenses increased by $931,000 or 4.0% in 2005, after increasing by 6.9% in 2004. The increases for 2005 and 2004 were mainly attributable to an increase in staff levels and merit increases in salaries.

 

Occupancy expense increased by $801,000 or 26.7% in 2005, this followed an increase of $349,000 or 13.2% in 2004. The increase in 2005 was mainly attributable to depreciation and real estate taxes associated with the addition to the corporate headquarters as well as full-year costs associated with the opening of one new branch in 2004 and partial year costs associated with the opening of one new branch in 2005. The increase in 2004 was mainly attributable to full-year costs associated with the opening of two new branches in 2003 and the partial year cost associated with the opening of one new branch in 2004. Equipment expense increased by $607,000 or 25.5% in 2005; this followed an increase of $677,000 or 39.8% in 2004. The increase in 2005 was mainly attributable to full-year costs of depreciation and service contract expense associated with the addition of the lockbox image system, as well as depreciation associated with the addition to the corporate headquarters. The increase in 2004 was mainly attributable to increased depreciation and service contract expense associated with the additions of check and lockbox image systems. Other operating expenses increased by $316,000 in 2005, which followed a $862,000 increase in 2004. The increase for 2005 was primarily the result of increased consulting costs associated with the BlackRock contract. The expense related to this contract ended on June 30, 2005 and the contract terminated January 31, 2006. The increase for 2004 was primarily the result of increased legal, audit, personnel recruitment and marketing expense. The costs increased mainly because of compliance related services. Marketing increased because of an increase in advertising.

 

Provision for Income Taxes

 

Income tax expense was $3,166,000 in 2005, $4,974,000 in 2004 and $8,963,000 in 2003. The effective tax rate was 31.5% in 2005, 35.9% in 2004 and 43.4% (37.7%, excluding REIT settlement) in 2003. The decrease in the effective tax rate for 2005 and 2004 was mainly attributable to less earnings at the Bank that caused a decrease in both federal and state taxes. The portion of earnings subject to a higher tax rate decreased in 2005 and 2004. The federal tax rate was 34% in 2005 and 35% in 2004. Also, 2005 had a higher proportion of non-taxable income. Included in tax expense for 2003 is a net tax charge of $1,183,000 associated with the REIT settlement. This charge was the result of an agreement with the Massachusetts DOR settling a dispute related to taxes that the DOR claimed were owed from the Company’s REIT.

 

Market Risk and Asset Liability Management

 

Market risk is the risk of loss from adverse changes in market prices and rates. The Company’s market risk arises primarily from interest rate risk inherent in its lending and deposit taking activities, and to that end, management actively monitors and manages its interest rate risk exposure.

 

The Company’s profitability is affected by fluctuations in interest rates. A sudden and substantial increase in interest rates may adversely impact the Company’s earnings to the extent that the interest rates borne by assets and liabilities do not change at the same speed, to the same extent, or on the same basis. The Company monitors the impact of changes in interest rates on its net interest income using several tools. One measure of the Company’s exposures to differential changes in interest rates between assets and liabilities is an interest rate risk management

test. This test measures the impact on net interest income of an immediate change in interest rates in 100 basis point increments.

 

 

 

 

The Company’s primary objective in managing interest rate risk is to minimize the adverse impact of changes in interest rates on the Company’s net interest income and capital, while structuring the Company’s asset-liability structure to obtain the maximum yield-cost spread on that structure. The Company relies primarily on its asset-liability structure to control interest rate risk.

 

Contractual Obligations, Commitments, and Contingencies

 

The Company has entered into contractual obligations and commitments. The following tables summarize the Company’s contractual cash obligations and other commitments at December 31, 2005.

 

 

 

Financial Instruments With Off-Balance Sheet Risk

 

The Company is party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its customers. These financial instruments primarily include commitments to originate and sell loans, standby letters of credit, unused lines of credit and unadvanced portions of construction loans. The instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheet. The contract or notational amounts of those instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Company has in these particular classes of financial instruments.

 

The Company’s exposure to credit loss in the event of non-performance by the other party to the financial instrument for loan commitments, standby letters of credit and unadvanced portions of construction loans is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments. Financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk at December 31,are as follows:

 

Commitments to originate loans, unadvanced portions of construction loans and unused letters of credit are generally agreements to lend to a customer provided there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The Company evaluates each customer’s credit worthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Company upon extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the borrower.

 

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance by a customer to a third party. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers.

 

Recent Accounting Developments

 

FASB Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) Issue 03-1, “The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment and Its Application to Certain Investments”

 

In November 2005, the FASB issued FSP FAS 115-1 and 124-1 “The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment and Its Application to Certain Investments”. This FSP nullifies certain requirements of EITF 03-1 and supersedes EITF Topic No. D-44, “Recognition of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment upon the Planned Sale of a Security Whose Cost Exceeds Fair Value”. This FSP addresses the determination as to when an investment is considered impaired, whether that impairment is other than temporary, and the measurement of an impairment loss. Additionally, the FSP addresses accounting considerations subsequent to the recognition of other-than-temporarily impairment and requires certain disclosures about unrealized losses that have not been recognized as other-than-temporary impairments. Other-than-temporary impairment per FSP FAS 115-1 and FAS 124-1 require an investor to apply other existing guidance that is pertinent to the determination of whether an impairment is other than temporary rather than the evaluation guidance set forth in EITF 03-1. The guidance does require an impairment charge to be recognized in the current period if it is determined that a security will be sold in a subsequent period where the fair value is not expected to be fully recovered by the time of sale. This FSP is effective for other-than-temporary impairment analysis conducted in periods beginning after December 15, 2005. The adoptions of EITF 03-1 and EITF 03-1-1did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations and the Company does not believe that the adoption of FSP FAS 115-1 and 124-1 will have a material impact on the Company’s financial position.

 

In December 2004, the FASB issued a revised Statement No. 123, (revised 2004) (SFAS 123R), “Share-Based Payment”. This Statement replaces SFAS No. 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation , and supercedes APB Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees , and its related implementation guidance. This Statement establishes standards for the accounting for transactions in which an entity exchanges its equity instruments for goods or services. This Statement requires a public entity to measure the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant-date fair value of the award (with limited exceptions). That cost will be recognized over the period during which an employee is required to provide service in exchange for the award-the requisite service period (usually the vesting period).This Statement is effective as of the beginning of the first annual reporting period that begins after June 15, 2005. The Company voted to accelerate the vesting of certain unvested “out-of-the-money” stock options awarded to Century Bank employees pursuant to the Century Bancorp, Inc. 2000 and 2004 Employee Stock Option Plans so that they immediately vested as of December 30, 2005. The Board also voted a technical amendment to each of the Plans to eliminate the possibility that the terms of any outstanding or future stock option would require a cash settlement on the occurrence of any circumstance outside the control of the Company. These amendments avoid classification of the Company’s stock options as liabilities under SFAS 123R.

The Company decided to accelerate the vesting of certain stock options primarily to reduce the non-cash compensation expense that would otherwise be expected to be recorded in conjunction with the Company’s required adoption of SFAS 123R in 2006. SFAS 123R, which becomes effective for the Company on January 1, 2006, is an accounting rule that requires companies to record compensation expense over a stock option’s vesting period, even if the exercise price of a stock option exceeds the current market value of the company’s common stock. There will be no earnings impact in 2006.

 

On December 30, 2005 the Board vote approved the acceleration and immediate vesting of all unvested options with an exercise price of $31.60 and $31.83 or greater per share. As a consequence of the Board vote, options to purchase 23,950 shares of Century Bancorp Class A common stock became exercisable immediately. The average of the high and low price at which the Company’s common stock traded on December 30, 2005, the date of the Board vote, was $29.28 per share. The Company estimates that, as a result of this accelerated vesting, approximately $190,000 of 2006 non-cash compensation expense will be eliminated that would otherwise have been recognized in the Company’s earnings.

CENTURY BANCORP, INC.

 

Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.