Midwest regional bank Huntington Bancshares'
Impressive growth
Huntington's net interest income rose by 3% to $417.2 million from a year ago and a modest 1% on a sequential basis. The rise came from a $0.6 billion or 1% rise in average earning assets and also an increase in its net interest margin on a sequential basis. In fact, the net interest margin has gone up in the last two quarters -- from 3.34% in the third quarter of 2011 to 3.40% at present. This is indicative of the fact that the bank is managing its funds much more effectively than before.
However, its non-interest income grew by an impressive 20% to $285.3 million. The gain reflected a $22.3 million rise in its mortgage banking revenues as well as another $11.4 million coming in from its acquisition of Michigan-based Fidelity Bank.
The rise in revenue, coupled with a 30% fall in provision for loan losses from a year ago, helped Huntington's net income rise to $153 million from $126 million in the year-ago period.
A growing trend...
The rise in the bank's net interest income during the quarter can also be attributed to the fact that Huntington was able to grow its total loans and leases by 6% from a year ago, which includes a 12% rise in total commercial lending.
As we all know, low long-term interest rates have haunted U.S. banks for quite some time now, but these banks have somewhat managed to counteract these pressures by growing their loan books. Peer PNC Financial
Creditworthy
As I've mentioned before, Huntington's loan loss provisions fell. On the whole, the bank's credit quality improved and its net charge-offs declined by 50% to $83 million. At the same time, its nonperforming assets declined by 24% to $527 million.
Plus, its Tier 1 capital ratio also rose a hair to 12.2%, indicating a pretty strong capital position.
All in all, Huntington posted a pretty strong quarter to kick off 2012. To follow the Ohio-based regional bank in 2012, you can use the Fool's free My Watchlist service.
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