THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170355
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
A mix of regional, statewide and community banking companies in Hampton Roads reported sharply higher net income for the first quarter, citing improved earnings from loans and fees and tighter control of their non-interest expenses.
NationsBank Corp., the largest banking company in the Southeast, said its net income for the March 31 quarter rose 16 percent, while Southern National Corp. of Winston-Salem, N.C., reported an earnings turnaround from a merger-related loss in the 1995 first quarter.
Jefferson Bankshares Inc., the Charlottesville-based parent of Jefferson National Bank, said its net income climbed 18 percent, and the Norfolk community bank Heritage Bankshares Inc. reported a 10 percent increase.
NationsBank's net income for the recent quarter totaled $513 million, up from $443 million in the comparable three months of 1995. Per-share earnings were $1.67, compared with $1.58.
The Charlotte-based company attributed part of the improvement to strong loan demand during the quarter, especially for residential mortgages and credit card loans. Without expenses related to recent acquisitions in Georgia and Florida, its net income for the quarter would have been a record $590 million, NationsBank said.
Southern National, parent of Commerce Bank in Virginia Beach, said it earned $69.61 million, or 65 cents a share, during the January-through-March period after losing $12.35 million, or 13 cents, in the year-earlier quarter.
Southern National's net interest income from loans and investments rose 6 percent, while income from fees, service charges and other non-interest sources jumped 19 percent. However, non-interest expenses were up less than 1 percent from the year-earlier quarter.
The company's loss for the 1995 first quarter included $70.5 million of after-tax charges from the merger of predecessor companies Southern National and BB&T Financial Corp.
Jefferson Bankshares said it earned $6.54 million in the recent quarter, compared with $5.55 million in last year's first quarter. Per-share earnings were 43 cents, up from 37 cents.
Jefferson credited higher levels of net interest income and non-interest income from deposit-account fees, mortgage-loan sales, and fees from credit cards and investment services. Meanwhile, its overhead for the recent quarter declined, partly because of the lower cost of federal insurance for deposits, Jefferson said.
Heritage Bankshares earnings, parent of Heritage Bank & Trust, increased 10 percent to $185,000 from $168,000. Per-share earnings were 24 cents, up from 21 cents.
Heritage said income from loans and investments increased only 1 percent. However, it reported a 45 percent reduction in its provision for loan losses and a 4 percent reduction in non-interest expense. by CNB