THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 16, 1996 TAG: 9607160246
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 50 lines
Four banking companies in the region - NationsBank Corp., First Union Corp., Crestar Financial Corp. and Southern National Corp. - reported robust increases in their net income for the second quarter.
All four attributed the improvements to higher income from loans and fees and to continued restraint on their non-interest expenses.
Most also reported that their troubled loans and foreclosed real estate remained at modest levels or had declined since last year's second quarter.
Charlotte-based NationsBank said its net income for the quarter jumped 30 percent because of a sharp rise in consumer loans. Higher fees from mortgage servicing, investment banking and other non-interest activities also contributed to the increase in earnings, the company said.
NationsBank's net income for the April-through-June period totaled $605 million, compared with $467 million in the year-earlier quarter. Per-share earnings, fully diluted, rose to $1.98 from $1.70.
First Union reported second-quarter net income of $436 million, a 21 percent increase from $359 million in the year-earlier quarter. Earnings per share were $1.55, compared with $1.30.
Charlotte-based First Union, which has stepped up its commitment to investment banking activities, said its income from fees and other non-interest sources rose 25 percent. Net interest income for the quarter was up 9 percent from the second quarter of 1995, it said.
First Union's results for the quarter included First Fidelity Bancorp., the New Jersey-based banking company acquired in January.
Crestar, based in Richmond, said its net income climbed 9 percent from the year-earlier quarter, despite a decline in its loan volume since mid-1995.
Crestar reported net income of $56.7 million, which was up from $51.8 million for last year's second quarter. Its earnings per share were $1.31, up from $1.18.
Crestar attributed the earnings improvement to an 8 percent increase in net interest income and a 16 percent rise in income from fees and other non-interest sources. However, its total loans at the end of June were down 4 percent from their year-earlier level because of the sale of mortgage loans and a decline in the outstandings on its credit cards, Crestar said.
At Winston-Salem-based Southern National, second-quarter net income was a record $73.9 million, a 28 percent increase from $57.9 million for the April-through-June period of 1995. Per-share earnings were 70 cents, up from 53 cents.
Southern National, parent of Commerce Bank in Virginia Beach, said its earnings were helped by a wider spread between the cost of funds and the yield on its loans and investments. Higher earnings from mortgage banking, investment services, service charges and insurance commissions also contributed to the second-quarter results, it said. by CNB