Fulton Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., said Tuesday that its second-quarter earnings rose nearly 15% from the same period last year, to $36. 4 million. Earnings per diluted share increased 29%, to 18 cents, a penny above estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
The $16 billion-asset, multi-bank holding company attributed its improved performance to a 10% decrease in its provision for loan losses and gains in both interest and noninterest income.
Net interest income after provisioning for loan losses rose 5.5%, to $104.6 million, thanks largely to a 29.5% decrease in funding costs. Fee income also increased 5.5%, to $47.4 million.
Overall, Fulton's nonperforming loans fell 1.9%, to $310.8 million, though its nonperforming assets increased 1.7% from a year earlier to $348.3 million, or 2.18% of total assets.
