Republic Bancorp Inc. in Louisville reported Friday that its fourth-quarter net income rose 8% from a year earlier, to $6.4 million.
The $3.6 billion-asset company attributed the gain to 13% increase in net interest income, to $23.6 million, and a 27% increase in noninterest income, to $9.3 million.
The increase in noninterest income included a $1.9 million, nonrecurring gain from an insurance settlement related to a fire at its corporate center in late 2006. Gains in fees from service charges on deposit accounts, debit cards, and mortgage banking also helped drive noninterest income. Like most banks, Republic's nonperforming loans have increased. Nonperformers totaled $9.6 million at Dec. 31, up from 50% from a year earlier. In all, nonperformers equaled 0.40% of total loans, up from 0.28% a year earlier.
