From the Vault: Area banks' 3Q results

Bank of America Corp., parent company of Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America, reported a 32 percent drop in net income for the third-quarter compared to last year.

Net income totaled $3.7 billion, down 32 percent from $5.42 billion in third-quarter 2006. Diluted earnings per share fell 31 percent to 82 cents from $1.18.

Wall Street analysts anticipated earnings of $1.06 a share on revenue of $18.3 billion. Revenue net of interest expense declined 12 percent to $16.30 billion from $18.49 billion in third-quarter 2006.

The drop in net income was the result of a $1.33 billion decline in earnings in the company’s global corporate and investment banking division, due to significant disruption in the financial markets. Provision expenses increased by $865 million due to consumer and small-business credit costs rising from post bankruptcy reform lows, as well as stress in several portfolios driven by the weakened U.S. housing market, the company said.

“While the significant dislocations in the capital markets have hurt most participants, we are still very disappointed in our third-quarter performance,” said Kenneth D. Lewis, chairman and CEO, in a news release.

Shares (NYSE: BAC) closed Oct. 24 at $47.48, compared to a 52-week range of $46.52-$55.08.

Commerce earnings climb 5%

Kansas City-based Commerce Bancshares Inc. announced per-share earnings of 81 cents for the third quarter, a 5.2 percent increase. The quarterly earnings were 77 cents per share in 2006.

Net income for the quarter was $55.9 million, compared to $54.5 million last year. Noninterest income was $94 million, compared to $87 million in third-quarter 2006.

Year-to-date earnings per share were $2.33, compared to $2.29 in the first nine months of 2006. Year-to-date net income was $163 million, compared to $162.8 million last year.

“Despite weakness in the residential real estate sector, overall economic activity in our markets has led to continued loan growth,” CEO and chairman David W. Kemper said in a company news release. He said average loans increased 11 percent in the quarter compared to the same period last year, driven by commercial and consumer loan growth.

During the quarter, Commerce acquired Denver-based Commerce Bank with $75 million in loans and $72 million in deposits.

Company shares (Nasdaq: CBSH) closed Oct. 24 at $45.52, compared to a 52-week range of $43.28 to $50.77.

Great Southern reports lower net income

Springfield-based Great Southern Bancorp Inc., parent company of Great Southern Bank, reported net income down nearly 9 percent from last year.

Net income for the third quarter totaled $7.3 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, down 8.8 percent from the $8 million in third-quarter 2006.

Quarterly net interest income totaled $17.93 million, up from $17.87 million in third-quarter 2006. For the year-to-date, net income is up 3.8 percent to $53.6 million.

Total deposits, excluding brokered and national certificates of deposit, increased $156 million, or 17 percent, since the beginning of the year, while loans increased $93 million, or 5 percent.

“Despite the challenging operating environment, growth in loans and core deposits continued at a healthy pace in the third quarter,” said Great Southern President and CEO Joseph W. Turner in a news release. He said nonperforming assets increased during the quarter, and while a portion of those problem credits were residential construction and development loans, they were not loans made to subprime consumers.

Shares (Nasdaq: GSBC) closed Oct. 24 at $23.70, compared to a 52-week range of $23.53 to $32.14.

Guaranty Bank net income flat

Springfield-based Guaranty Federal Bancshares Inc., the holding company for Guaranty Bank, reported a 3-cent increase in diluted earnings per share for the third quarter.

Per-share earnings were 59 cents for the quarter. Year-to-date earnings per share were $1.70, compared to $1.64 in the same period last year.

Third-quarter net income showed a hint of a decline at $1.61 million, compared to $1.62 million last year.

Noninterest income increased 32 percent for the quarter to $1.2 million, compared to $921,000 in third-quarter 2006.

Deposits increased 14 percent, or $49.3 million, for the year-to-date, and 25 percent, or $79.3 million, from third-quarter 2006.

“In light of the concerns about the overall health of the economy, we are pleased with our third-quarter 5 percent increase in earnings per share,” Guaranty President and CEO Shaun Burke said in a company news release.

Shares (Nasdaq: GFED) closed Oct. 24 at $29.95, compared to a 52-week range of $27.56 to $30.85.

Regions reports soft earnings

Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Financial Corp., the parent company of Regions Bank, reported third-quarter income down from the second quarter.

Net income, excluding the impact of merger-related expenses, was 64 cents per diluted share on income of $450.7 million, down 7.2 percent from 69 cents per diluted share on income of $490.9 million in the second quarter.

Net interest income totaled $1.1 billion in the quarter, down $25.4 million from the previous quarter. Company officials attribute the decline to a large tax deposit and a decline in low-cost deposits.

“Business conditions continued to be less than optimal during the quarter, but our conservative operating culture continues to serve us well in this challenging environment,” President and CEO Dowd Ritter said in a news release.

Shares (NYSE: RF) closed Oct. 24 at $26.30, compared to a 52-week range of $25.73-$38.18.

U.S. Bancorp’s earnings per share rise slightly

U.S. Bancorp, holding company for Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank, reported higher net income for the third quarter compared to last quarter, but it was down from the same period in 2006.

Third-quarter net income totaled $1.18 billion, up 1.7 percent from the second quarter but down 2.2 percent from the third quarter of 2006. Earnings per share totaled 67 cents, up 3.1 percent from the second quarter and 1.5 percent high than last year.

The company’s year-to-year drop in net income is attributed to higher operating expenses and an expected increase in credit costs, which offset fee-based revenue growth in the company’s payment services and wealth management and securities services divisions, according to a company news release.

“We are not immune to the challenges presented to us by the current environment,” said Richard K. Davis, U.S. Bancorp president and CEO, in the release.

Shares (NYSE: USB) closed Oct. 24 at $31.41, compared to a 52-week range of $29.09 to $36.85.

UMB earnings rise due to fee-based business

Kansas City-based UMB Financial Corp. reported third-quarter earnings of $21.5 million, up from $15.9 million the same period last year.

Earnings per diluted share were 51 cents, up from 37 cents per share last year.

The company attributes the revenue increase to a 19.4 percent jump in noninterest income – which was $77 million – and a 5.8 percent increase in net interest income – which was $58 million. Those gains were partially offset by a 5.3 percent increase in noninterest expense.

“Our fee-based businesses continue to drive our success,” said President and Chief Operating Officer Peter deSilva in a company news release. “(Noninterest income) growth was driven by trust and securities processing income from our asset management and fund services divisions, as well as from the sale of our securities transfer product.”

Assets for the quarter were $7.8 billion, compared to $7.5 billion in third-quarter 2006, and average loans were $3.9 billion, up from $3.6 billion last year.

As of Sept. 30, UMB had total shareholders’ equity of $884.3 million, a 3.5 percent increase from third-quarter 2006.

Shares (Nasdaq: UMBF) closed Oct. 24 at $43.53, compared to a 52-week range of $35.17 to $47.06.

BancorpSouth reports double-digit income growth

BancorpSouth Inc. recorded a 52 percent gain in net income in the third quarter.

Net income was $36.3 million, up from $23.9 million in third-quarter 2006. Earnings per diluted share were 44 cents, compared to 30 cents a year ago.

Noninterest revenue increased 17.6 percent to $57.9 million, from $49.2 million in third-quarter 2006. Net interest revenue grew 18.7 percent to $208 million, compared to $175.2 million in the same period last year.

Assets as of Sept. 30 were up 10.6 percent to $13.1 billion, and deposits were up 7.4 percent to $10.2 billion.

“Growth for the third quarter (was) driven by the double-digit rate of expansion of both our traditional banking business and other noninterest revenue,” CEO and Chairman Aubrey Patterson said in a news release.

“We again achieved solid organic growth in loans and in insurance commission revenue, even as demand softened relative to the second quarter in both our regional markets and nationally,” he said.

The Mississippi-based bank purchased Springfield-based The Signature Bank earlier this year, and six Springfield branches adopted BancorpSouth’s moniker in July.

Shares (NYSE: BXS) closed Oct. 24 at $23.22, compared to a 52-week range of $21.75 to $27.56.[[In-content Ad]]