Beverly National Corp., the parent company of Beverly National Bank, has reported net income for the fourth quarter of $581,000, compared to $960,000 for the same period in 2007, a 39.5 percent decrease.

For 2008, the bank reported a net loss of $167,000, compared to the reported net income of $3.6 million in 2007, a 95.4 percent decrease.

Net income for the quarter was impacted by "other than temporary impairment charges on two trust preferred pool securities and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock investments," the bank said. These OTTI charges amounted to $3.2 million, $1.9 million net of tax.

Also recognized during the quarter was a tax benefit of $1.5 million related to the third quarter OTTI write-down of the company’s investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stocks.

"However, our annual results were impacted by the recognition of OTTI charges in our investment portfolio," said Don Fournier, president and chief executive officer. "The decision by the Federal government to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship resulted in the write-down of our investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred securities of $2.3 million, net of tax. The Company also incurred a $1.9 million charge, net of tax, related to two trust preferred securities owned by the Bank. Excluding the effects of these OTTI charges, our core net income and earnings per share would have increased over last year, primarily due to the improvement in the net interest margin."