M&T Bank Corp. said its profit inched higher in the second
quarter as revenue and average total loans grew, but a key lending
profitability metric narrowed.
Per-share earnings came in slightly above Wall Street
estimates.
The Buffalo, N.Y.-based bank posted earnings of $286.7 million,
up from $284.3 million in the prior-year period. On a per-share
basis, earnings were flat at $1.98. Revenue rose 3.7% to $1.2
billion.
Analysts had expected $1.97 a share in earnings and $1.1 billion
in revenue, according to FactSet.
Net interest margin, an important measure of lending
profitability, fell to 3.17% from 3.4% a year earlier.
Sequentially, though, it held steady. For many banks, the gauge has
been under pressure amid continued low interest rates.
Chief Financial Officer René Jones highlighted growth in
commercial loan portfolios during the quarter, where balances grew
and the company benefited from higher loan syndication fees. Total
loans and leases rose 5.3% from the year-earlier period, summing
$68.1 billion.
M&T's results were hurt by the sale in April of its trade
processing business and by a contribution to the bank's charitable
foundation. Together those items took a penny off per-share
earnings, the company said.
The bank, with about 650 branches across six eastern states plus
Washington, D.C., has been struggling to close a deal to acquire
Hudson City Bancorp Inc. for more than two years. The two lenders
came to an agreement in August 2012, but have extended the deadline
several times, most recently to Oct. 31. Two years ago, the Fed
raised concerns about M&T's anti-money-laundering procedures,
which the bank has been working to fix through increased spending
in compliance and related hires.
During the latest quarter, M&T's efficiency ratio, which
measures costs as a percentage of revenue, was little changed at
58.23%
Shares in the company, up about 2% this year, were inactive
premarket.
Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com
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