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Enterprise Financial Services Corp. in St. Louis reported earnings of $9.7 million for the third quarter, nearly doubling its earnings from a year earlier, as the company made more money on loans and in its wealth management division.

The $3.3 billion-asset Enterprise said that its net interest income rose 33%, to $32.4 million. While several bank companies have boosted interest income by reducing their costs of funds, Enterprise saw its growth came from the top line. Its interest income was $40 million, up 25% from a year earlier, while its interest expense was $7.6 million, relatively flat from a year earlier.

The company's net interest margin, absent any guarantees from loss-sharing agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., was 3.37% in the quarter, down 14 basis points from the second quarter. The constriction was caused by excess liquidity, decline in its loan yield and intense pricing competition for commercial loans, the company said in a press release.

The company said it grew commercial loans 3% from the second quarter. At Sept. 30, such loans totaled $706 million, up 19% from a year earlier.

Enterprise's noninterest income totaled $6.5 million, up 8% from a year earlier. That growth was attributed to an increase in wealth management revenue, which totaled $1.8 million, up 38% from a year earlier.