Banc One Corp. reported net income of $303 million, or 75 cents a share for the first quarter, signaling that it is back on track after taking a $220 million hit three months earlier to restructure its balance sheet.
The results amount to a fivefold increase over the Columbus, Ohio, bank holding company's fourth-quarter earnings of $64 million. But the figures represent a 7.3% decline from the comparable quarter of 1994.
"A year ago we were liability sensitive so we were enjoying the low rates and the spreads off of those low rates," said John McCoy, Banc One's chairman. "We've got the liability sensitivity out of our numbers. And we should see continued improved margins next quarter."
After falling from 6.05% during the first quarter of 1994 to 5.15% at yearend, the net interest margin recovered to 5.33% for the 1995 quarter. The margins for the first quarter in both 1994 and 1995 received a contribution from loans that were made in anticipation of tax refunds. Excluding these loans would have lowered the margin to 5.20% during the first three months of 1995.
Fred Cummings, a bank analyst with McDonald and Company Investments Inc., Cleveland, acknowledged the bank's strides in margin improvement. "A lot of that is the result of the moves they made to reduce interest sensitivity in the fourth quarter," he said.
Asset quality continued to improve, as nonperforming assets fell from $600.2 million a year ago to $449.6 million at March 31. As a result, the company cut its loan loss provision to $66.5 million, from $80.2 million last year. Mr. McCoy said he was content with this provision, pointing out that the company sees little credit weakness now.
At St. Louis-based Boatmen's Bancshares, income declined 12.8%, as $19.7 million in aftertax merger costs relating to acquisitions more than offset $12.8 million in asset sales.
Net income for the quarter amounted to $85.4 million, or 67 cents a share, for the $32.4 billion-asset company, compared with $97.9 million, or 77 cents a share, earned during the same period last year.
Northern Trust Corp. of Chicago reported record earnings its first quarter. Taking advantage of a 10% increase in trust fees, the $18.4 billion-asset bank reported $49.3 million in net income for the quarter, or 85 cents per fully diluted share, compared with the $45.4 million, or 80 cents a share, reported in last year's first quarter.
A stable net interest margin, combined with a 32.3% increase in loans outstanding, helped Old Kent Financial Corp., Grand Rapids, Mich., post a 5.5% increase in net income over the 1994 quarter. The $11.8 billion-asset bank reported net income of $34.7 million. Its earnings per share of 80 cents were 3 cents above the year-earlier figure.
Wichita, Kan.-based Fourth Financial Corp. reported a 75.9% decline in earnings, to $4.5 million, due largely to previously announced securities losses. First-quarter net income was 10 cents per fully diluted share, compared with 61 cents a share a year earlier.
TCF Financial Corp., a Minneapolis-based thrift with $7.4 billion of assets, reported a net loss of $12.6 million, or 77 cents a share, for the first quarter. The decline was due to $54 million in pre-tax charges relating to the acquisition of Great Lakes Bancorp of Ann Arbor, Mich. +++ Banc One Corp. Columbus, Ohio Dollar amounts in millions (except per share) First Quarter 1Q95 1Q94 Net income $302.5 $327.0 Per share 0.75 0.79 ROA 1.42% 1.57% ROE 16.29% 17.46% Net interest margin 5.33% 6.05% Net interest income 1,003.6 1,102.7 Noninterest income 462.2 371.7 Noninterest expense 928.0 885.7 Loss provision 66.5 80.2 Net chargeoffs 74.3 76.8 Balance Sheet 3/31/95 3/31/94 Assets $87,830.5 $88,453.4 Deposits 65,407.9 64,187.1 Loans 62,495.5 58,631.8 Reserve/nonp. loans 241.0% 208.7% Nonperf. loans/loans 0.59% 0.79% Nonperf. assets/assets 0.51% 0.68% Nonperf. assets/loans + OREO 0.72% 1.02% Leverage cap. ratio* 8.58% 8.61% Tier 1 cap. ratio* 10.04% 10.59% Tier 1+2 cap. ratio* 13.37% 14.17% *estimated ===
