Franklin Bank Corp. of Houston’s full-year earnings rose a whopping 624% from a year earlier, to $23.3 million.
For the fourth quarter, the $3.5 billion-asset company posted net income of $7 million, compared with a loss of $287,000 in the same period in 2003.
In its earnings report Tuesday, Franklin attributed the full-year gain largely to soaring commercial loan growth. The commercial loans in its portfolio at yearend rose 174% from a year earlier, to $591 million, and its net interest income rose 238%, to $65.7 million.
Anthony J. Nocella, Franklin’s president and chief executive officer, said in a news release that it expects earnings to increase 25% this year, to between $30 million and $31.5 million. Much of that growth will be fueled by acquisitions, he said; Franklin has two deals pending and says it is on the lookout for more.
