BankRI parent company posts $29M Q3 profit

PROVIDENCE – Brookline Bancorp Inc., the parent for Bank Rhode Island, saw its third-quarter earnings increase 54.4% year over year, to $28.8 million, the company announced on Wednesday.

The rise in profits was driven by halving of interest expenses and the shedding of $3.1 million from the company’s credit loss provisions. Like banks nationwide, the company stockpiled reserves during 2020 in anticipation of bad loans that largely never materialized. 

Earnings per diluted share rose from 24 cents to 37 cents.

Interest income fell by 3.7% to $77.7 million, reflecting the continued low interest rate environment. However, depressed interest rates also helped to cut interest expenses by more than half, allowing the bank to boost its net interest income by 7.2%, to $70.7 million.

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Net interest margin, the difference between interest income generated versus the amount of interest paid out to lenders, rose 45 basis points to 3.53%.

Noninterest income grew by 14.9% to $5.6 million, with gains in deposit and other income. Noninterest expenses remained flat at $40.9 million, with a $1.1 million boost to employee compensation and benefits offset by declines in occupancy and other expenses.

Total assets of $8.3 billion represented a 7.6% year-over-year decrease, reflecting losses in commercial loans as the Paycheck Protection Program ends. Of the $872.1 million in forgivable payroll loans the bank served as lender for throughout the program, just $160.6 million remains outstanding as of Sept. 30, the company stated. The $6.8 billion in total loans and leases marks a 6.3% cut over a year ago, despite small gains in commercial real estate loans.

Quarter-end deposits stood at $6.9 billion, a 1.2% increase driven by the growth of demand for checking and money market accounts.

I am pleased to report solid earnings for the third quarter … as the economy in our markets continues to improve,” said Paul Perrault, Brookline Bancorp Inc. chairman and CEO, in a statement. “Our employees have remained focused on providing exceptional customer service to our customers and communities throughout 2021, which has positioned us well as we look forward to the end of the year.”

Brookline’s earnings report did not break out the performance of Providence-based Bank Rhode Island. Brookline Bancorp is also the parent company for Brookline Bank and First Ipswich Bank in Massachusetts.