Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. of San Antonio reported Wednesday that it had second-quarter earnings of $40.7 million, 19% more than a year earlier.
Diluted earnings per share rose 18%, to 77 cents, beating the average of analysts' estimates by 4 cents. First-half net income rose 17%, to $78.1 million, and diluted earnings per share 16% in the six months, to $1.47.
The $10 billion-asset company's earnings were helped by a pretax gain of $2.4 million from a legal settlement related to employees who left their jobs with Cullen/Frost's insurance business in Austin.
Net interest income rose 16% year over year, to $95.9 million, which led to a 40-basis-point net interest margin increase, to 4.42%.
Noninterest income rose 2.5%, to $57.7 million. Noninterest expenses rose 5%, to $89.5 million, mostly because of higher salary and benefits costs.
