Wisconsin banks saw profits rise 10.5 percent in the third quarter, and increased their lending.
The 212 Wisconsin banks insured by the FDIC reported $891 million in net income in the third quarter, up from $806 million among 227 banks in the third quarter of 2016, according to the FDIC’s latest Quarterly Banking Report.
Rose Oswald Poels, president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, highlighted the lower number of banks in the state.
“Despite the strong numbers from FDIC, there is another side to the story,” she said in a statement. “Wisconsin banks continue to face a variety of obstacles, such as: the rising cost of strong capital levels and funding loans, a prolonged low interest rate environment, and growing challenges to banks’ efficiency due in part to regulatory burden. Compliance, technology, and regulatory burden are also factors in the current rate of merger activity seen in the banking industry.”
Total loans and leases increased to $81.5 billion, up from $77.6 billion in the year-ago quarter. The ratio of net loans and leases to assets increased to 72 percent, up from 70.5 percent in the third quarter of 2016; but the ratio of noncurrent loans and leases to total loans and leases was down to 0.9 percent, from 1.1 percent in the same period a year ago.
Wisconsin banks have a total of $111.7 billion in assets, up from $108.6 billion in the third quarter of 2016.
“Wisconsin banks continue their important role as key drivers of our state’s economy with loan growth continuing in the third quarter compared to both the previous quarter and prior year,” Oswald Poels said. “They are successfully meeting the needs of the Badger State’s families and businesses according to the latest FDIC quarterly numbers. At the same time, Wisconsin’s banks face stiff headwinds in continuing to meet those needs due to a variety of challenges, especially regulatory burden.”
The WBA called for regulatory relief and tax reform in the statement.
State-chartered banks, on the other hand, which are regulated by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, reported a 0.7 percent decrease in profits during the first three quarters of the year. Their net income for the first three quarters totaled $419.4 million, down from $422.6 million in the same period in 2016. But net lending increased 6.6 percent over the same time period, to $37.5 billion.
Green Bay-based Associated Bank N.A. again led Wisconsin banks in quarterly profits, at $71.5 million for the third quarter. The bank has $30 billion in assets.
Madison-based John Deere Financial f.s.b. was in a distant second, with $30.8 million in third quarter profit. It has $3.5 billion in assets.
Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management was third, with $11.3 million in third quarter profit. It has $222.5 million in assets.
Racine-based Johnson Bank was fourth at $9.3 million in third quarter profit. It has $4.7 billion in assets.
And Green Bay-based Nicolet National Bank rounded out the top five, reporting a third quarter profit of $9 million. It has $2.8 billion in assets.
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