PRESQUE ISLE – The First Citizens Bank has approved a dividend of $.20 per share on first-quarter earnings. The first-quarter dividend for 2001 reflects an 11 percent increase over the dividend paid for the same period last year. The dividend is payable on April 27 to stockholders of record on April 13, 2001.

First Citizens bank reported a net income of $174,156 for the three-month period ending March 31. It reported total assets of $124.9 million, an increase of $9.9 million, or 8.6 percent, over the first quarter of 2000. Net loans increased $9.5 million, or 10.7 percent during the same period, reaching $97.8 million on March 31. Total deposits were $106.2 million, reflecting an increase of $8.9 million, or 9.2 percent.