Regions Financial's profit rises on higher interest income, lower rainy day funds
Regions Financial's profit rises on higher interest income, lower rainy day funds July 17 (Reuters) - Regions Financial RF.N reported a rise in second-quarter profit on Friday, on the back of higher interest income and lower provisions for potentially souring loans.
Healthy consumer spending has sustained borrowing in the quarter, keeping loan growth resilient across banks and supporting their interest income, though analysts warn that a potential interest-rate hike later this year could weigh on that growth.
Here are some more details:
The Birmingham, Alabama-based lender's net interest income — the difference between what banks pay customers on deposits and earn as interest on loans — rose 1.4% from a year earlier to $1.28 billion.
Regions ended the quarter with $68 million in provision for credit losses, compared with $126 million a year earlier.
Provisioning is often seen as a gauge of the economic outlook; uncertainty prompts banks to set aside more funds in case consumers and businesses struggle to repay commercial loans, credit card debt or mortgages.
For the reported quarter, non-interest income fell 2.5% to $630 million.
Quarterly net income came in at $570 million, or 64 cents per share, compared with $563 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com;))
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