Profits and loans rising at Bancorp
BANCORP, one of America’s biggest regional banks, posted a 40 per cent rise in net income yesterday on the back of its core banking business.
Net income was $1.35bn (£875m), up from $974m a year ago and ahead of Wall Street estimates.
Net interest income – the difference between what the bank earned on loans and paid out on deposits – rose seven per cent to $2.67bn.
Credit quality was another bright spot for the bank, which has emerged as one of the strongest regional lenders in the US in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
Provisions for credit losses nearly halved to $497m.
“Credit quality continued to improve this quarter, with both net charge-offs and nonperforming assets lower than the prior quarter,” said chief executive Richard Davis. “We expect that nonperforming assets will decline in the coming quarter as the economy slowly improves.”
He added that Bancorp expects to perform well in the Federal Reserve’s stress tests of loan portfolios. However, the bank has not seen a rise in commercial credit use. “I think the fact that there is loan growth at all says that the economy is doing pretty well.”