As Sovereign and FleetBoston last week announced the completion of the conversion of the remaining branches to Sovereign Bank New England, a number of area publicly held banks were reporting strong second quarter revenues and earnings, with increased loans and deposits. While bank officials were not specifically attributing the growth to the conversion, the increased loans and deposits in particular, reflect what bank officials privately have been saying, and what their advertising campaigns reflect – a frenzied period in which banks would compete for former BankBoston customers.
At Bank Rhode Island, for instance, Merrill W. Sherman, bank president and chief executive officer, said that while the bank’s growth has been steady since its founding (also the result of a Fleet divestiture) in 1996, its deposits, for instance, have increased 40 percent over the last six months.
Building a Strong Data Foundation in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a key priority in the boardroom and across management —…
Learn More
Other banks’ earnings reflect acquisitions and expansion. Here’s a look at the quarterly results reported by publicly held area financial institutions. The banks or their holding companies are listed alphabetically.
Bank Rhode Island profits
PROVIDENCE –Bank Rhode Island (NASDAQ:BARI – news) reported second quarter net income rose sharply to a record$1.4 million, some 29 percent over the second quarter of last year. For the six months ended June 30, the Bank’s net income jumped more than 37 percent over the same period last year, reaching $2.7 million.
“This is the fourth straight quarter the Bank has posted record earnings,” said Merrill W. Sherman, Bank Rhode Island President and CEO. “Our commercial loan portfolio has reached $200 million and we’re continuing to see significant growth in assets and deposits. Our financial performance underscores the success we’ve had filling the mid-size bank niche in the Providence area.”
Bank Rhode Island’s total assets have increased $50.4 million in the first six months of this year, reaching $682.4 million. Total assets have increased nearly 47 percent since the Bank’s inception in 1996.
Total deposits continued to climb, reaching $579.4 million. Deposits are up $158.3 million over the last four years with more than 40 percent of that growth coming in the last six months.
First Financial strong
PROVIDENCE — First Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FTFN), parent of First Bank and Trust Co., is reporting second quarter net income of $478,854, up 12.1 percent from the same period a year ago. Net income rose 11.1 percent to $927,594 for the company’s first six months of its fiscal year.
Patrick J. Shanahan, Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the quarter was among the company’s “strongest” and noted increases in total assets, loans and deposits.
Total assets grew to $165.7 million, up 12 percent; total loans rose to $99.4 million, up 9.5 percent; and deposits grew to $125.5 million, up 14.6 percent.
FleetBoston earnings up 15 percent
BOSTON — FleetBoston Financial (FBF:NYSE) reported second quarter earnings of $772 million, up 15 percent from the same period a year ago. The company said that when merger related items are factored, net income was $847 million, up 26 percent from the previous year.
Among the merger-related items, the bank said, was the divestiture of $3.6 billion of loans and $4 billion of deposits to Sovereign Bancorp and some community banks, and expenses related to the merger of BankBoston and Fleet.
For the six months, operating earnings were $1.58 billion, up 20 percent and net income was $1.8 billion, up 38 percent.
Total assets, as of June 30, were $181.3 billion, compared to $187.8 billion in March and $184.5 billion on June 30, 1999. The bank attributed the decline in assets to the divestiture of loans to Sovereign Bancorp and community banks during the first six months of the year, and the elimination of the regulatory requirement to maintain certain levels of low yielding assets to support revenue from Robertson Stephens.
Seacoast posts slight gains
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Seacoast Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:NMS), holding company for CompassBank, reported net income of $6 million for the second quarter, up 3.4 percent from the previous year. For the six months the company reported net income of $11.427 million, up slightly from $11.422 million of the previous year.
The bank, on July 3, opened a branch in Seekonk, noting its proximity to the Rhode Island border. It is the bank’s 37th full-service branch. Bank president and chief executive officer Kevin G. Champagne said he is pleased by the bank — “retail banking” performance, in spite of “margin pressures.”
Washington Trust — earnings reflect acquisition
WESTERLY — Washington Trust Bancorp. (NASDAQ: WASH), parent of The Washington Trust Co., reported net income of $2.4 million for its second quarter, down from $3.3 million for the same period last year. For the six-month period, the company’s net income was $5.8 million, down from $6.5 million.
However, the second quarter showed one-time costs of $1.1 million related to the acquisition of Phoenix Investment Management Co. Excluding acquisition expenses, net income was $3.5 million, up 6 percent. For the six months, the net income, without acquisition costs, was $6.9 million, up 6.2 percent.
