Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., announced Thursday that its first-quarter earnings fell 37% from a year earlier, to $6 million, and said an increase in its loan-loss provision was a big reason for the decline.
Earnings per share fell 33%, to 22 cents, and met estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
The $2.4 billion-asset company provisioned $4.5 million for credit losses, bringing the reserve to 1.83% of total loans, and charged off $4.2 million of loans mainly related to land development and mixed-use construction.
Nonperforming assets rose 69%, to $96 million, from the quarter that ended Dec. 31. The latest nonperformers include a Portland-area operating commercial building now classified as other real estate owned.
Cascade's loan portfolio grew by 5.5%, to $2.04 billion, from a year earlier, and deposits fell 2.1%, to $1.5 billion.
The company's net interest margin dropped 26 basis points, to 4.68%, from the previous quarter, and fell 66 basis points from a year earlier.
