Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. has cut its 2004 earnings estimate in half because it has decided to prepay $195 million of Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings.
Processing Content
A $21.6 million prepayment penalty is expected to reduce the $2.5 billion-asset Olney, Md., company's fourth-quarter net income by $12.3 million.
Sandy Spring earned $6.9 million in the fourth quarter of last year.
Because of the prepayment, Sandy Spring is lowering its full-year earnings estimate to between 95 cents to $1.05 per share, compared to the consensus estimate of about $1.82 per share.
In a press release late Wednesday, Sandy Spring said that the prepayment, part of a balance-sheet repositioning, is meant to improve its net interest margin and interest rate risk position.
