American River Bankshares, parent company of Bank of Amador, has reported diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2006 of $0.42, a 7.7% increase from $0.39 recorded in the third quarter of 2006 and a 2.3% decrease from $0.43 for the fourth quarter of 2005. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2006 increased 5.8% to $2,407,000 from $2,275,000 during the third quarter of 2006 and decreased 6.2% from $2,567,000 for the fourth quarter of 2005. "We are pleased to finish 2006 with solid results," said David T. Taber, President and CEO of American River Bankshares. "The last two quarters have each been better than the previous and our key industry metrics are very good." He added: "The economy is strong, but the rapid increase in funding costs has made 2006 tough. As a Company, we believe that we're up to the challenge of positioning ourselves as the premier business bank in the communities we serve."    Taber states that  "Shifting our loan and deposit portfolio mix towards commercial loans and noninterest bearing deposits remains an important goal," He continued "Quarter over quarter, commercial loans are up 3%, noninterest-bearing deposits are up 4% and over the one year period, commercial loans increased 10%."