United Community Banks reported strong revenue and earnings gains in the first quarter thanks largely to a pair of recent acquisitions.
The Blairsville, Ga., company, with $9.8 billion of assets, said Wednesday that it earned $22.3 million in the quarter that ended March 31, up 26% from the same period year earlier.
Total revenue rose 32%, to $94 million, as net interest revenue shot up 31%, to $75.2 million. These gains were aided in part by United Community's purchase of
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United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., has agreed to buy Tidelands Bancshares in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., for $2.2 million in cash, or 52 cents a share.
April 4 -
Executives at United Community in Georgia say they have a list of 50 targets as the company nears $10 billion in assets. A large transformative deal would also be considered.
October 13 -
A dozen banks from Arkansas to Virginia are nearing $10 billion in assets, where they will face higher compliance costs and caps on interchange fees. Mergers among those institutions could create a new class of regional bank.
March 21
Management has said it is interested in
Total loans increased more than 27%, to $6.1 billion with the commercial portfolio climbing 28%, to $3.5 billion.
Fee revenue totaled $18.6 million, up 19% from a year earlier. Service charges and fees increased roughly 33%, to $10.2 million, while mortgage loan and other related fees rose 19%, to $3.3 million.
United Community recorded $2.7 million in merger-related and other costs as overall total operating expenses surged 34%, to $57.9 million. Salaries and employee benefits costs increased 25%, to $33.1 million.