Buoyed by growth in its tax refund anticipation loan business, Republic Bancorp Inc. of Louisville said Friday that its first-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year earlier, to $19.8 million, or 96 cents a share.
The $3.1 billion-asset Republic signed a three-year contract in September with Jackson Hewitt Inc. to provide refund anticipation loans to the Parsippany, N.J., tax preparer's customers. The agreement led to a 213% jump in refund anticipation loan volume.
Republic's noninterest income rose 153%, to $18.5 million, about $17.2 million of which it attributed to refund loans. Net interest income rose 67%, $44.2 million, about $13 million of which came from the increased refund loan volume.
The Federal Reserve Board's short-term rate cuts helped Republic's core net interest margin rise 54 basis points, to 3.63%.
