First Republic Bank, the company that Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. agreed on Monday to buy, reported fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday that missed the average of analysts' estimates by a penny.
The San Francisco company said its net income grew 7% in the quarter, to $15.4 million. Earnings per diluted share were 51 cents, but the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was 52 cents.
First Republic, which targets ultra-high-net-worth investors, said its results included merger integration costs of $4.2 million, or 10 cents a share, and a gain on sale of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. assessment credits of $2 million, or 4 cents a share. It also cited continuing net interest margin pressure.
The company said wealth management assets were $17.5 billion at Dec. 31, up 26% from a year earlier.
Merrill, the New York brokerage giant, said its $1.8 billion stock and cash deal for the $11.6 billion-asset First Republic would let it offer private banking services to its wealthiest investors. The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.
