First Citizens Bancshares, a $7.7 billion-asset bank based in Raleigh, N.C., has reported earnings of $12.4 million in the third quarter - a 21.5% drop from the same period last year.
The bank said the decline was due to a $6.4 million after-tax charge for a payment to help refinance the Savings Association Insurance Fund.
Excluding this nonrecurring charge, net income for the quarter was $18.8 million, up 19%. First Citizens earned $1.08 per share in the quarter, compared with $1.49 in the third period of 1995.
Analysts said the bank's results were not surprising and met consensus expectations.
"The bank tends to grow in the upper single digits, and has had a history of growing conservatively, which is good for its shareholders," said Brant R. Snavely, an analyst with Branch, Cabell & Co., Richmond, Va.
For the first nine months, First Citizens earned $211.2 million, up 15.5% from the same period in 1995.
Improved credit card and fee income contributed to a 10.2% rise in total noninterest income, to $26 million for the nine-month period. Assets increased by $600 million in the quarter. Total deposits were $6.8 billion, up $600 million from the same period of 1995.
First Citizens has 300 offices in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
