M&T Bank Corp.'s second-quarter earnings more than tripled as credit loss provisions plunged and net interest income was higher.
M&T, which operates throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, has seen profit climb in recent periods as it lowered loan-loss provisions and increased deposits. A long-time Warren Buffett pick, it performed well through the financial crisis as it pushed its community-banking model.
M&T reported a profit of $188.7 million, or $1.47 a share, up from $51.2 million, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding amortization of core deposits and merger-related items, profit climbed to $1.53 from 79 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast $1.25.
Taxable-equivalent net interest income rose 13% to $573.3 million.
The bank's provision for credit losses was $85 million, down from $147 million a year earlier and $105 million in the prior quarter. Net charge-offs, or loans the bank doesn't think it can recover, were 0.64% of average loans, down from 1.09% and 0.74%, respectively. Nonperforming assets, those near default, rose 6.7% on year but were down 11% sequentially.
Total deposits rose 1.6% but total loans and leases were 3.1% lower, following a trend established by other banks which have already reported second-quarter results.
M&T shares closed Tuesday at $85.08 and were inactive premarket. The stock has climbed 55% the past year.
