PROVIDENCE – Brookline Bancorp Inc., the Boston-based parent company of Bank Rhode Island, reported Wednesday a record $87.7 million profit in 2019.
Year-end earnings increased 5.6% over the $83.1 million Brookline reported in 2018. Earnings per diluted share increased to $1.10, compared to $1.04 a year ago.
Total income in 2019 was $377.4 million, an 11.3% increase over 2018. That included $347.6 million in interest income, a majority of which came from loans and leases, and $29.8 million in non-interest income, driven by deposit fees and net loan-level derivative income.
Total expenses increased 13.7% to $251.8 million for the year, including $27.6 million paid in interest on deposits, a 65.7% increase over 2018. Employee benefits and compensation also increased $5.5 million.
Average 2019 assets increased 6.3% over the prior year to $7.9 billion, including $3.7 billion in commercial real estate loans. Nonperforming assets, meanwhile, decreased 21.4% to $22.1 million.
Year-end loans and leases totaled $6.7 billion, up from the $6.3 billion reported at the end of 2018. Total deposits stood at $5.8 billion at the end of 2019 compared to $5.5 billion a year prior, including a 13.0% increase in certificate of deposit accounts.
The company’s net interest margin – the different between interest income generated and the amount paid out to lenders – decreased 10 basis points from 3.61% to 3.51%, reflecting the impact of a string of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2019.
Brookline’s fourth-quarter earnings were up 4.9%, reaching $22.2 million in 2019, compared with $21.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Fourth-quarter net interest margin dropped 15 basis points, from 3.58% in 2018 to 3.43% in 2019.
“We had another successful year of solid growth and returns for our stockholders in 2019,” President and CEO Paul Perrault said in a statement. “For the second straight year, Brookline Bancorp has achieved record earnings per share and net income.”
Brookline’s earning report did not breakout the performance of Providence-based Bank Rhode Island. Brookline is also the parent company for Brookline Bank and First Ipswich Bank in Massachusetts.
