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Webster Bank is expanding its long-term relationship with technology provider FIS.
January 31 -
A key investor in Webster Financial is reducing its stake in the Waterbury, Conn., company.
December 7
Higher revenues and lower expenses provided a boost to first-quarter results at Webster Financial (WBS) in Waterbury, Conn.
Earnings at the $20.1 billion-asset company rose 2.3% from a year earlier, to $39.2 million.
Net interest income rose 1.7% from a year earlier, to $145.7 million, though the margin shrank 13 basis points, to 3.23%. Total loans rose 6.1% from a year earlier, to $12 billion, primarily because of increased business lending.
Noninterest income rose 9.8% from a year earlier, to $48.3 million, primarily because of fees from mortgage banking and an increase in the cash surrender value of certain life insurance policies.
Noninterest expense fell 2.1% from a year earlier, to $125.5 million, because of lower personnel costs. The company's efficiency ratio was 62.16%, an improvement from 65.63% a year earlier.
Webster's lending was fueled by an "increase in the commercial portfolio as we continued to help lead the region's economic recovery," James Smith, the company's chief executive, said in a press release Monday.
