First Republic Bank in San Francisco said Thursday that its third-quarter profit climbed 27.4% from the same period last year, to $171.8 million, thanks to double-digit gains in both interest and fee income.
Earnings per share climbed 22% year over year to $1, a penny above consensus Wall Street forecasts.
The $68 billion-asset First Republic attributed the results to strong loan activity in the quarter and continued expansion of its wealth management business.
First Republic originated $6.5 billion of loans in the quarter, second most in its history for any three-month period. At Sept. 30, it had total loans of $49.7 billion, up 17.6% over last year's third quarter. Net interest income increased 18.4% year over year, to nearly $461 million, due primarily to the growth in earning assets.
Noninterest income climbed 22% year over year, to $97.3 million, primarily due to growth in wealth management revenues. Wealth assets under management have increased 14.6% year to date, to $80.2 billion, as the bank continues to attract assets from new and existing clients.
Expenses also increased 22%, to nearly $338 million. "The increase was primarily due to increased salaries and benefits from the continued investments in the expansion of the franchise and regulatory compliance activities," the bank said in a news release.
