From the Vault

In the fourth quarter, net income per diluted share grew 44 percent to 56 cents.

The bank increased its assets by $40 million, or 9 percent, compared to the previous year, and deposits increased $24 million, or 8 percent.

Guaranty Federal also announced that its plan to repurchase 300,000 shares of common stock, declared in November 2002, is almost complete, as more than 261,000 shares have been repurchased at an average cost of $21.63 per share.

Guaranty Federal Bancshares (Nasdaq: GFED) closed Jan. 31 at $28.34 per share, compared to a 52-week range of $21.93 to $29.00.

GSBC 4Q, annual earnings slump

Springfield-based Great Southern Bancorp Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings for 2005 and issued an accounting restatement Jan. 23. Preliminary earnings were 37 cents per share, down 2 cents from the fourth quarter in 2004.

For the year, Great Southern Bank's holding company declared preliminary earnings of $1.63 per share, or $22.7 million, down 26 cents compared to 2004 earnings of $1.89 per share.

Net interest income for the fourth quarter increased $2.6 million to $16 million, up from $13.4 million for the fourth quarter in 2004. Annual noninterest income was $58.4 million, up by $8.6 million from last year.

The company's reported earnings include the effects of an accounting restatement caused by a change in interpretation of derivative accounting rules. Since mid-2000, Great Southern has entered into interest rate swap agreements to hedge the interest rate risk of its brokered certificates of deposit. The change results in a reduction to retained earnings amounting to about $3.4 million, or 2 percent of stockholder's equity, though Great Southern President and CEO Joseph W. Turner said he expects long-term consequences to be minimal.

“The losses recognized in this correction are not permanent - they are expected to flow back into income in future periods as the interest rate swaps mature,” Turner said in a news release.

In a noncash correction, the company will restate its three quarterly reports for 2005 and financial statements from the last four years when it files its annual report in March.

Great Southern Bancorp shares (Nasdaq: GSBC) closed Feb. 1 at $28.33, compared to a 52-week range of $26.32 to $36.70.

BAC income up 19 percent

Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp. reported a 19 percent increase in net income for 2005.

Net income was $16.89 billion, compared to $14.14 billion a year earlier. Per-share diluted earnings increased 12 percent for the year to $4.15.

Annual revenue grew 16 percent to $56.8 billion, driven by a 28 percent increase in noninterest income, equity investment gains, higher debit/credit card income and trading account profits.

Total assets as of Dec. 31 were $1.27 trillion, 21.6 percent above the previous year, and total deposits were $632 billion, up 14.7 percent.

Fourth-quarter income and earnings were not as strong, however. Net income totaled $3.77 billion, or 93 cents per diluted share, down from the $3.85 billion, or 94 cents per diluted share, in fourth-quarter 2004.

Shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) closed Feb. 1 at $43.95, compared to a 52-week range of $43.95 to $47.44.

Commerce's 21-year record

Commerce Bancshares Inc., the Kansas City-based holding company of Commerce Bank, announced annual earnings per share of $3.16, up from 2004's $2.95 per share. The growth marks the 21st consecutive year of record earnings for the company.

2005 net income totaled $223.2 million, up 1.3 percent from 2004.

Fourth-quarter earnings reached 81 cents per share, up 14 percent from fourth-quarter 2004. Net income for the quarter totaled $56.2 million, up 6.6 percent from the same period the year before.

The company had assets of $13.9 billion as of Dec. 31, while loans were $8.9 billion and deposits were $10.9 billion.

Shares of Commerce Bancshares (Nasdaq: CBSH) closed Feb. 1 at $50.31, compared to a 52-week range of $43.94 to $53.63.

Regions completes merger

Regions Financial Corp. reported earnings of 62 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2005, excluding 7 cents in charges resulting from the completion of the company's merger with Union Planters Bank.

The quarter's earnings were up 1 cent from 61 cents in the third quarter, also excluding merger charges. After merger costs, earnings per share were 55 cents, showing no change over the previous quarter.

Earnings were up 2 percent from the same quarter in 2004 and 11 percent annually.

Net income for the quarter was $254 million, including after-tax, merger-related and other costs of $34 million. Income was down from $256.6 million in the third quarter.

The third and final round of bank branch conversions took place in the fourth quarter. More than 700 Union Planters Bank branches were converted to Regions in 2005.

Shares (NYSE: RF) closed Feb. 1 at $33.51, compared to a 52-week range of $29.16 to $35.54.

UMB earnings up 31.5 percent

Kansas City-based UMB Bank reported 31.5 percent growth in year-end earnings.

Earnings of $56.3 million, or $2.60 per diluted share, in 2005 is 31.5 percent higher than the 2004 total of $42.8 million.

Net interest income was up 5.1 percent from 2004, to $188.3 million, and noninterest income was up 10.4 percent to $251.9 million. Both increases were attributed to increases in fee-based revenue as well as net gains on the sales and closures of branches and employee benefit accounts.

Total loans as of Dec. 31 increased 18.3 percent from the previous year to $3.33 billion. Total assets increased 5.7 percent to $8.25 billion, and total deposits increased 9.9 percent to $5.92 billion.

For the fourth quarter of 2005, net interest income totaled $48.2 million, up 7.3 percent from the same period in 2004. Diluted net income per share for the quarter totaled 69 cents, up 27.8 percent from fourth-quarter 2004.

UMB Financial Corp. shares (Nasdaq: UMBF) closed Feb. 1 at $67.67, compared to a 52-week range of $52.89 to $68.49.

U.S. Bank sets income record

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, the holding company for U.S. Bank, announced 8.2 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Fourth-quarter net income was $1.14 billion, or 62 cents per diluted share. That's up 8.2 percent from the same period in 2004 but down 1 percent from the third quarter of 2005.

For the year, net income hit a record at $4.49 billion, up 7.7 percent from 2004. Earnings per share for the year were $2.42, up 11 percent from the previous year.

Net interest income for the fourth quarter was down 0.8 percent to $1.79 billion. For the year, net interest income dropped 0.7 percent to $7.09 billion.

U.S. Bancorp's $209 billion of assets makes it the sixth-largest financial services holding company in the United States. Shares (NYSE: USB) closed Feb. 1 at $29.83, compared to a 52-week range of $26.80 to $31.21.