Eagle of Maryland Credits Mortgage Boom for Profit Surge

Eagle Bancorp (EGBN) originated and sold off more residential mortgages in the first-quarter, which helped boost profits by about 49%, to $7.6 million, from a year earlier.

The Bethesda, Md., company reported earnings per share of 36 cents per share, which beat analysts' estimates by a penny, according to Thomson Reuters. Noninterest income rose 105% to $6 million, largely because of the increased mortgage business in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Eagle Chief Executive Ron Paul has touted the relative economic strength of Eagle's home turf as a key driver of loan growth.

The $2.8 billion-asset company's balance of one-to-four family mortgages increased 119% to $43 million from the year-ago period. Because of the growth in lending, Eagle's loan loss provision increased 87.6% to $3.9 million from a year earlier. Net chargeoffs rose 31%, to $1.7 million. The biggest component of chargeoffs was commercial and industrial loans.

Net interest income before the provision rose 32% to $28.4 million.

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