North Shore Bank posts higher earnings, U.S. Bank remains profitable and Northern Trust has a record fourth quarter
North Shore Bank Reports Higher Earnings in 2008
North Shore Bank reported earnings of $8.03 million for 2008, an 8.1 percent increase over its 2007 earnings.
The Brookfield-based bank has experienced an increased in stressed loans, said James McKenna, president and CEO. However, it has been able to balance its struggles with increased profitability, resulting in better cash reserves.
“To experience a solid earnings jump as many of our competitors continue to suffer heavy losses is a sign that North Shore Bank is standing strong amid the ongoing crisis,” McKenna said. “While other banks have been forced to seek financial assistance from the federal government, North Shore Bank remains well-capitalized and secure.
“All of us at North Shore Bank are putting forth our best efforts to ensure we continue to make credit available to creditworthy customers as we always have. Our mortgage capacity is being stretched currently due to the incredible volumes of customers coming to us to re-finance their mortgage loans. However, we have been able to accommodate these customers by adding to our capacity and all of our associates are contributing maximum effort. We are seeing many new customers, whose previous mortgage was through a mortgage broker or other lender. Many of these previous lenders are no longer in business or too impaired to handle these loan requests.”
North Shore Bank has assets of nearly $1.9 billion and 43 locations in eastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois. The bank opened its 43rd office in Grafton, in October and is building its 44th office in Mequon.
U.S. Bank remains profitable
Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp., which has a significant presence in Wisconsin, recently reported net income of $330 million for the fourth quarter of 2008.
That was a 42.7 percent decline from the company’s $942 million in net income for the fourth quarter of 2007. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were 15 cents, down from 53 cents in the fourth quarter of 2007.
U.S. Bank had net income of $2.946 billion for all of 2008, down 32 percent from 2007’s net income of $3.324 billion.
Despite the income decline, U.S. Bancorp remains profitable as other prominent U.S. financial institutions have crumbled in recent months, prompting the federal government to make plans to spend $700 billion to bail the industry out.
"I am disappointed with the overall decline in this quarter’s earnings," said U.S. Bancorp chairman, president and chief executive officer Richard K. Davis. "I am however, very proud of the fact that our company has profitably navigated through this difficult environment, while continuing to build momentum for the future. As I have said many times over the past year, U.S. Bancorp is open for business."
In November, U.S. Bancorp announced its participation in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Capital Purchase Program and issued $6.6 billion of preferred stock and related warrants to the U.S. Treasury.
"We are actively lending to credit-worthy borrowers, we are investing in our business, we are supporting our communities and we are backing the efforts of the U.S. Treasury to stabilize the financial markets and increase the flow of credit to both consumers and businesses," Davis said.
Northern Trust reports record quarter
In sharp contrast to the dire financial results reported recently by many large banks across the nation, Chicago-based Northern Trust Corp., reported fourth quarter net income of $342.3 million, or $1.47 per share, more than double the net income of $125.0 million, or 55 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company’s operating earnings jumped to a record $1.39 per share.
Northern Trust operates an office in downtown Milwaukee and is the primary sponsor of the Northern Trust Economic Trends Breakfast presented by BizTimes Milwaukee at the Italian Community Center last week. Nearly 600 people attended the event.
Frederick Waddell, president and chief executive officer of Northern Trust, said, "Despite the extremely difficult economic conditions, our sound balance sheet and prudent business model enabled us to achieve record fourth quarter performance, and our 2008 full year results were strong in the context of the environment. Our client franchise grew throughout the year and our capital position at year end was solid. We remain focused on exceeding the expectations of our clients. As we look forward into 2009, we remain confident in our strategic and competitive positioning, notwithstanding a cautious outlook consistent with the very difficult economic conditions."
