Santa Paula-based Santa Clara Valley Bank (not to be confused with the Bank of Santa Clarita) went from a $181,000 profit for the first quarter of last year to a $90,000 loss for the first three months of 2013, thanks to lower loan balances and the cost of hiring two new loan officers, bank officials said.

“Declines in loan balances combined with downward pressure on interest rates for loans and investments have had an industry wide impact on bank earnings,” the bank said in its quarterly financial report.

Scott Rushing, chairman of the three-branch bank (Santa Paula, Fillmore, Valencia) said portfolio quality “continues to demonstrate solid improvement with a low level of non current loans to total loans of just 1.21 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2013 just 63 percent of the loan loss reserve allowance, substantially below a common 100-percent maximum benchmark ratio.”

An increase in 2013 expenses was attributed “primarily … to the hiring of two additional loan officers and additional loan support staff,” the statement said.

The quarterly results “are consistent with the bank’s strategic plan to invest in the future growth of the bank and reflects the Board’s commitment to serve the lending needs of our community by hiring top notch, experienced staff who have the expertise that only a community bank can offer to the local business community,” Rushing said.