8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 2, 2016

WESTFIELD FINANCIAL, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Massachusetts
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) 001-16767
(Commission
File Number) 73-1627673
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

141 Elm Street

Westfield, Massachusetts 01085
(Address of principal executive offices, zip code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (413) 568-1911

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 2.02.           Results of Operations and Financial Condition

On May 2, 2016, Westfield Financial, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.  The press release also announced the declaration of a regular cash dividend of $0.03 per share.  A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is hereby incorporated by reference into this Item 2.02.

The information contained in this current report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.1, shall not be deemed “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission nor incorporated by reference in any registration statement filed by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Item 9.01          Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(a)  Not applicable.

(b)  Not applicable.

(c)  Not applicable.

(d)  Exhibits.

The exhibits required by this item are set forth on the Exhibit Index attached hereto.

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	Press Release, dated May 2, 2016

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

WESTFIELD FINANCIAL, INC.
By:	/s/ Leo R. Sagan, Jr.
	Leo R. Sagan, Jr.
	Chief Financial Officer

Dated: May 3, 2016

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release, dated May 2, 2016

EX-99.1

Westfield Financial, Inc. 8-K

Exhibit 99.1

For further information contact:

James C. Hagan, President & CEO

Leo R. Sagan, Jr., CFO

Meghan Hibner, VP Investor Relations Officer

413-568-1911

WESTFIELD FINANCIAL, INC. REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2016 AND DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

Tangible Book Value at Highest Level Since the First Quarter of 2013

Westfield, Massachusetts, May 2, 2016: Westfield Financial, Inc. (the “Company”) (NasdaqGS:WFD), the holding company for Westfield Bank (the “Bank”), reported net income of $2.0 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, compared to $1.3 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.

Selected financial highlights for first quarter 2016 include:

• Total loans increased $96.6 million, or 13.2%, to $827.0 million at March 31, 2016 compared to $730.4 million at March 31, 2015. This was primarily due to increases in residential loans of $63.6 million and commercial real estate loans of $36.0 million. On a sequential-quarter basis, total loans increased $8.8 million, or 1.1%, from $818.2 million at December 31, 2015. This was due to an increase in commercial real estate loans of $20.1 million, offset by a decrease in commercial and industrial loans of $10.8 million, primarily due to the payoff of an $8.8 million loan relationship that occurred late in the first quarter of 2016 and was considered a Shared National Credit.

• Net interest and dividend income increased $653,000 to $8.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 compared to $7.6 million for the comparable 2015 period. On a sequential-quarter basis, net interest and dividend income increased $90,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2015.

• For the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the Company recorded a $600,000 credit to the provision for loan losses, compared to $300,000 in provision expense for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. The credit to the provision was primarily the result of an $852,000 recovery on a single commercial real estate loan.

• Securities declined $198.9 million, or 38.6%, to $316.3 million at March 31, 2016, compared to $515.2 million at March 31, 2015. On a sequential-quarter basis, securities decreased by $119.6 million, or 27.4%, at March 31, 2016, compared to $435.9 million at December 31, 2015. During the current quarter, the Bank transferred its securities classified as held-to-maturity into available-for-sale. A total of $136.8 million in securities were sold near the end of the quarter which resulted in a net gain of $685,000 for the first quarter 2016.

• The Bank prepaid long-term Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings in the amount of $42.5 million with a weighted average rate of 2.29% and incurred a prepayment expense of $915,000 for the first quarter 2016 in order to reduce reliance on wholesale funding.

• Tangible book value at March 31, 2016 was $7.83 per share, an increase of 2.6% from the prior quarter ended December 31, 2015 and an increase of 3.6% from the first quarter of 2015, and represents its highest level since the first quarter of 2013.

“Our long term goal has been to actively improve our balance sheet mix by increasing loans and decreasing securities,” said James C. Hagan, President and CEO. “In the five years since March 31, 2011, we increased loans by $301.6 million, which equates to 64.4% of average interest-earning assets, up from 44.3% at March 31, 2011. In that same five year period, we increased deposits by $220.6 million and reduced borrowings by $55.8 million.

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During this first quarter, we took advantage of market conditions to further reduce our securities portfolio along with our borrowings. In doing so, we have also reduced the dollar amount of instruments that are marked to market impacting accumulated other comprehensive income, and therefore, tangible book value. While this has resulted in a large net cash position, our intent was to create liquidity to enable us to continue to improve our asset mix as well as improving our funding mix to enhance our franchise value. As of April 29, 2016, total loans have increased $49.0 million and borrowings have decreased by $13.0 million due to the payoff of a matured borrowing, compared to March 31, 2016.”

Hagan went on to say, “We have taken action to strategically expand our market reach into northern Connecticut and this has proven successful for us.  Granby, Connecticut, which opened in June 2013 and Enfield, Connecticut, which opened in November 2014, now have over $56.0 million in deposits.  While Connecticut was a new market for us, our experienced regional leadership team worked to cultivate customer deposit and loan relationships and we found the customer base to be very receptive to our brand of banking.

On April 4, 2016, Westfield Financial announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Chicopee Bancorp whereby Chicopee will merge with and into Westfield. The partnership is exciting because of the commonality of our cultures, our operating models and customer service focus of our two institutions. The complimentary nature of our branch footprints creates opportunity for growth and expansion into new markets for Westfield. A merger of our two banks will be extremely favorable for the shareholders, customers, employees and communities of both institutions.”

Additional Income Statement Discussion

The net interest margin increased 9 basis points to 2.61% for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, compared to 2.52% for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, primarily driven by the positive shift in asset mix from securities into loans. The yield on average interest-earning assets increased 13 basis points while the cost of average interest-bearing liabilities increased 3 basis points.

Income from service charges and fees increased $246,000 to $884,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, compared to $638,000 for the same period in 2015, due primarily to $106,000 in fee income related to an interest rate swap and a $102,000 increase in debit card interchange income.

Non-interest expense was $7.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 and $6.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. The increase was primarily due to $154,000 in merger-related expenses for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, compared to none in the 2015 period. The efficiency ratio, excluding non-core items, improved to 74.54% during the first quarter of 2016 from 78.08% for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

Additional Balance Sheet Discussion

Total deposits increased $54.8 million, or 6.3%, to $928.1 million at March 31, 2016, compared to $873.3 million at March 31, 2015. This was primarily due to increases in money market accounts of $20.4 million, term accounts of $17.7 million, checking accounts of $16.3 million and regular savings accounts of $379,000.

Shareholders’ equity was $143.0 million at March 31, 2016 and $139.5 million at December 31, 2015, which represented 10.4% of total assets in both periods. The increase in shareholders’ equity during the quarter reflects net income of $2.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 and an increase in accumulated other comprehensive income of $1.9 million, partially offset by the payment of a quarterly dividend of $519,000.

Credit Quality

The allowance for loan losses was $8.9 million at March 31, 2016, $8.8 million at December 31, 2015 and $8.0 million at March 31, 2015, representing 1.07%, 1.08% and 1.10% of total loans, respectively. This represents 106.8%, 109.4% and 96.3% of nonperforming loans at March 31, 2016, December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2015, respectively.

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An analysis of the changes in the allowance for loan losses is as follows:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,			December 31,			March 31,
	2016			2015			2015
	(In thousands)
Balance, beginning of period	$	8,840		$	8,372		$	7,948
(Credit) provision		(600	)		475			300
Charge-offs		(243	)		(65	)		(225	)
Recoveries		858			58			12
Balance, end of period	$	8,855		$	8,840		$	8,035

Nonperforming loans were $8.3 million and $8.0 million, representing 1.00% and 0.99% of total loans at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. Loans delinquent 30 – 89 days decreased $1.5 million to $1.4 million at March 31, 2016 from $2.9 million at December 31, 2015. There are no loans 90 or more days past due and still accruing interest.

Declaration of Quarterly Dividend

The Board of Directors approved the declaration of a quarterly cash dividend of $0.03 per share. The dividend is payable on May 25, 2016 to all shareholders of record on May 16, 2016.

About Westfield Financial, Inc.

Westfield Financial, Inc. is a Massachusetts-chartered stock holding company and the parent company of Westfield Bank, Elm Street Securities Corporation, WFD Securities, Inc. and WB Real Estate Holdings, LLC. Westfield Financial and its subsidiaries are headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts and operate through 13 banking offices located in Agawam, East Longmeadow, Feeding Hills, Holyoke, Southwick, Springfield, West Springfield and Westfield, Massachusetts, and Granby and Enfield, Connecticut.  To learn more, visit our website at www.westfieldbank.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The Company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements contained in this press release, which speak only as of the date made. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company and the Bank do not undertake and specifically decline any obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

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WESTFIELD FINANCIAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Income and Other Data

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,			December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,
	2016			2015			2015			2015			2015
INTEREST AND DIVIDEND INCOME:
Loans	$	8,250		$	8,072		$	7,849		$	7,371		$	7,229
Securities		2,554			2,609			2,997			3,049			2,885
Other investments - at cost		132			133			126			69			68
Federal funds sold, interest-bearing deposits and other short-term investments		25			6			2			5			6
Total interest and dividend income		10,961			10,820			10,974			10,494			10,188
INTEREST EXPENSE:
Deposits		1,472			1,436			1,414			1,380			1,341
Long-term debt		842			889			1,083			1,092			1,070
Short-term borrowings		404			342			317			243			187
Total interest expense		2,718			2,667			2,814			2,715			2,598
Net interest and dividend income		8,243			8,153			8,160			7,779			7,590
(CREDIT) PROVISION FOR LOAN LOSSES		(600	)		475			150			350			300
Net interest and dividend income after (credit) provision for loan losses		8,843			7,678			8,010			7,429			7,290
NONINTEREST INCOME:
Service charges and fees		884			865			789			840			638
Income from bank-owned life insurance		361			378			374			407			367
Loss on prepayment of borrowings		(915	)		—			(429	)		(278	)		(593	)
Gain on sales of securities, net		685			(1	)		414			276			817
Total noninterest income		1,015			1,242			1,148			1,245			1,229
NONINTEREST EXPENSE:
Salaries and employees benefits		3,871			3,822			3,903			3,863			3,821
Occupancy		801			795			784			818			840
Data processing		621			582			636			559			585
Professional fees		516			568			596			488			472
FDIC insurance		190			208			212			188			193
Merger related expenses		154			55			—			—			—
Other		919			960			736			949			800
Total noninterest expense		7,072			6,990			6,867			6,865			6,711
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES		2,786			1,930			2,291			1,809			1,808
INCOME TAX PROVISION		822			529			680			445			470
NET INCOME	$	1,964		$	1,401		$	1,611		$	1,364		$	1,338
Basic earnings per share	$	0.11		$	0.08		$	0.09		$	0.08		$	0.08
Weighted average shares outstanding		17,304,088			17,329,248			17,461,472			17,519,562			17,684,498
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.11		$	0.08		$	0.09		$	0.08		$	0.08
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding		17,304,088			17,329,248			17,461,472			17,519,562			17,684,498
Other Data:
Return on average assets (1)		0.58	%		0.41	%		0.47	%		0.41	%		0.41	%
Return on average equity (1)		5.61	%		3.99	%		4.69	%		3.89	%		3.82	%
Efficiency Ratio		74.54	%		74.39	%		73.66	%		76.06	%		78.08	%
Net interest margin		2.61	%		2.58	%		2.53	%		2.50	%		2.52	%

______________________

(1) Annualized.

(2) The efficiency ratio represents the ratio of operating expenses divided by the sum of net interest and dividend income and noninterest income, excluding gain and loss on sale of securities, gain on bank-owned life insurance death benefit and loss on prepayment of borrowings.

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WESTFIELD FINANCIAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets and Other Data

(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

	March 31,			December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,
	2016			2015			2015			2015			2015
Cash and cash equivalents	$	155,194		$	13,703		$	21,980		$	13,694		$	12,719
Securities available for sale, at fair value		302,224			182,590			191,324			245,004			233,591
Securities held to maturity, at cost		—			238,219			248,757			256,303			266,718
Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston and other  restricted stock - at cost		14,080			15,074			15,839			15,372			14,934
Loans		826,963			818,213			806,893			759,382			730,354
Allowance for loan losses		8,855			8,840			8,372			8,295			8,035
Net loans		818,108			809,373			798,521			751,087			722,319
Bank-owned life insurance		50,591			50,230			49,852			49,477			49,070
Other assets		28,747			30,741			30,942			30,749			29,660
TOTAL ASSETS	$	1,368,944		$	1,339,930		$	1,357,215		$	1,361,686		$	1,329,011
Total deposits	$	928,124		$	900,363		$	909,041		$	897,714		$	873,303
Short-term borrowings		158,593			128,407			121,222			111,251			82,625
Long-term debt		90,943			153,358			166,407			195,772			212,637
Trades pending settlement		30,570			—			—			—			—
Other liabilities		17,719			18,336			20,937			17,124			20,156
TOTAL LIABILITIES		1,225,949			1,200,464			1,217,607			1,221,861			1,188,721
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY		142,995			139,466			139,608			139,825			140,290
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY	$	1,368,944		$	1,339,930		$	1,357,215		$	1,361,686		$	1,329,011
Book value per share	$	7.83		$	7.63		$	7.59		$	7.56		$	7.56
Other Data:
30-89 day delinquent loans	$	1,358		$	2,876		$	5,882		$	1,744		$	1,973
Nonperforming loans		8,288			8,080			7,347			8,013			8,340
Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans		1.00	%		0.99	%		0.91	%		1.06	%		1.14	%
Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets		0.61	%		0.60	%		0.54	%		0.59	%		0.63	%
Allowance for loan losses as a percentage of nonperforming loans		106.84	%		109.41	%		113.95	%		103.52	%		96.34	%
Allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loans		1.07	%		1.08	%		1.04	%		1.09	%		1.10	%

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The following tables set forth the information relating to our average balances and net interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2016, December 31, 2015, and March 31, 2015, and reflect the average yield on interest-earning assets and average cost of interest-bearing liabilities for the periods indicated.

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2016								December 31, 2015								March 31, 2015
	Average					Avg Yield/			Average					Avg Yield/			Average					Avg Yield/
	Balance		Interest			Cost			Balance		Interest			Cost			Balance		Interest			Cost
	(Dollars in thousands)
ASSETS:
Interest-earning assets
Loans(1)(2)	$	823,335	$	8,280			4.02	%	$	806,519	$	8,102			4.02	%	$	727,447	$	7,260			3.99	%
Securities(2)		411,034		2,590			2.52			429,571		2,654			2.47			481,919		2,975			2.47
Other investments - at cost		16,051		132			3.29			16,374		133			3.25			16,234		68			1.68
Short-term investments(3)		28,276		25			0.35			13,660		6			0.18			15,744		6			0.15
Total interest-earning assets		1,278,696		11,027			3.45			1,266,124		10,895			3.44			1,241,344		10,309			3.32
Total noninterest-earning assets		80,510								80,868								78,084
Total assets	$	1,359,206							$	1,346,992							$	1,319,428
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY:
Interest-bearing liabilities
Interest-bearing accounts	$	30,531		20			0.26		$	28,745		17			0.24		$	38,079		21			0.22
Savings accounts		76,958		20			0.10			75,426		20			0.11			75,725		19			0.10
Money market accounts		248,597		227			0.37			242,165		204			0.34			233,418		220			0.38
Time certificates of deposit		398,598		1,205			1.21			402,837		1,195			1.19			368,463		1,081			1.17
Total interest-bearing deposits		754,684		1,472						749,173		1,436						715,685		1,341
Short-term borrowings and long-term debt		290,069		1,246			1.72			285,687		1,231			1.72			308,379		1,257			1.63
Interest-bearing liabilities		1,044,753		2,718			1.04			1,034,860		2,667			1.03			1,024,064		2,598			1.01
Noninterest-bearing deposits		155,887								153,969								134,902
Other noninterest-bearing liabilities		17,987								18,992								18,473
Total noninterest-bearing liabilities		173,874								172,961								153,375
Total liabilities		1,218,627								1,207,821								1,177,439
Total equity		140,579								139,171								141,990
Total liabilities and equity	$	1,359,206							$	1,346,992							$	1,319,429
Less: Tax-equivalent adjustment(2)				(66	)							(75	)							(121	)
Net interest and dividend income			$	8,243							$	8,153							$	7,590
Net interest rate spread(4)							2.41	%							2.41	%							2.31	%
Net interest margin(5)							2.61	%							2.58	%							2.52	%
Ratio of average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities							122.39								122.35								121.22

(1) Loans, including non-accrual loans, are net of deferred loan origination costs and unadvanced funds.

(2) Securities, loan income and net interest income are presented on a tax-equivalent basis using a tax rate of 34%. The tax-equivalent adjustment is deducted from tax-equivalent net interest and dividend income to agree to the amount reported on the statements of income.

(3) Short-term investments include federal funds sold.

(4) Net interest rate spread represents the difference between the weighted average yield on interest-earning assets and the weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities.

(5) Net interest margin represents tax-equivalent net interest and dividend income as a percentage of average interest-earning assets.

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