Two Tennessee banks reported good second-quarter earnings, helped by strong loan growth and lower credit costs.
First American Corp., with $7.2 billion of assets, earned $22.1 million, down 15% from the year-ago quarter. Union Planters Corp., a $7 billion-asset bank, had a net of $18.4 million, which represented a 26% gain over the year-ago period.
The decline at First American was not related to core earnings, but occurred mainly because the Nashville-based bank took a $10 million negative loan-loss provision last year, in which funds are transferred from the reserve back to the bottom line.
85 Cents a Share Earned
On a per-share basis, First American earned 85 cents, which was three cents below analyst consensus estimates,
Union Planters, which is based in Memphis, earned 68 cents a share, which was 1 cent above most estimates.
Both Tennessee banks cited improving loan growth as a factor in their performance. Loans were up 14% from the year-ago quarter at First American, excluding recent acquisitions. The comparable percentage increase at Union Planters was 10%.
