PrivateBancorp Inc. in Chicago announced Monday that it lost $8.9 million in the first quarter, nearly the same amount it earned a year earlier.
The $6 billion-asset company lost 34 cents a share, compared to earnings of 41 cents a year earlier.
It attributed the loss to increased expenses related to its strategic growth plan, as well as an increased provision for loan losses.
During the quarter PrivateBancorp added 34 managing directors, bringing the total to 258, and it has hired 95 since announcing the growth plan's launch in the fourth quarter. It also has opened commercial loan offices in Cleveland, Des Moines, Denver, and Minneapolis. As a result, noninterest expenses rose 84% from a year earlier, to $42.9 million.
Credit problems also hurt the results. The loan-loss provision climbed 68% from the fourth quarter, to $17.1 million. Chargeoffs rose sevenfold, to $4.1 million. However, total deposits climbed 40% from a year earlier, to $5 billion. Loans rose 44%, to $5.1 billion.
