Community West Bancshares saw its net income rise in 2020, even as it fell slightly in the fourth quarter of the year.

The parent company of Goleta-based Community West Bank reported a net income of $8.2 million, or 97 cents per diluted share, for all of 2020, as compared to $8 million, or 93 cents per share, for the full year in 2019. In the fourth quarter, the bank earned $2.6 million, or 31 cents per diluted share, down slightly from the fourth quarter of 2019, when it earned $2.7 million, or 32 cents per share, according to a Feb. 1 earnings release.

Community West reduced its provision for loan losses in the fourth quarter, taking $44,000 from the fund instead of adding to it. The bank has put $2.1 million towards the provision this year because of challenges from the pandemic and the accompanying financial insecurity, reversing its position from the previous year, when the bank had a provision credit of just $165,000.

Community West also generated 501 loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program in 2020, for a total of $69.5 million. The bank’s total assets fell below $1 billion in the fourth quarter, after topping that benchmark in the third quarter of 2020.

The bank also announced that its board increased its quarterly cash dividend by 20%, to 6 cents per common share, reinstated its previously suspended stock repurchase program.