Sterling Bancorp in New York said first-quarter profits fell 46% from a year earlier, to $3.5 million, because of a tax-related gain it recorded in the first quarter of last year.
Earnings per share dropped 45%, to 18 cents.
The $1.8 billion-asset Sterling said Friday that, excluding the gain, its profits would have grown 30%, and earnings per share would have grown 35%.









