Bolstered by its acquisitions of two failed banks, Columbia Banking System Inc. in Tacoma, Wash., said Thursday that it earned $8.6 million in the second-quarter, an increase of 119% from the same period last year.
Its diluted earnings per share doubled, to 22 cents, beating consensus analysts' estimates by three cents, according to Thomson Reuters.
In May, Columbia acquired the $142 million-asset Summit Bank in Burlington, Wash,. and the $173 million-asset First Heritage Bank in Snohomish, Wash., after they were closed and seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The deals helped to boost Columbia's net interest income by 21% year over year, to $49.4 million, and aided in widening the net interest margin by 103 basis points, to 5.49%.
The $4.4 billion-asset company also reported a sharp decline in problem loans, particularly in its residential construction portfolio, which allowed to reduce its provision for loan losses by 83%, to $2.2 million.
