Northwest Bancshares (NWBI) in Warren, Pa., posted higher second-quarter earnings after delinquent and nonaccrual loans fell to their lowest levels in four years.
The $8 billion-asset company said Monday that its net income totaled $16.4 million, up roughly 9% from a year earlier. Its earnings per share of 17 cents met estimates from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. For the six months that ended June 30, the company earned $31.5 million, down 2 % from the same period a year earlier.
Delinquent and nonaccrual loans at June 30 were at their lowest levels since the second quarter of 2008, William J. Wagner, its president and chief executive, said in a news release. Loans at least 90 days delinquent fell more than 26%, to $84.7 million, year over year while total nonaccrual loans dropped roughly 27%, to $117.3 million.
With asset quality improving, the company lowered its provision for loan losses by more than 40%, to $5 million, from a year earlier.
Net interest income fell about 1%, to $66 million, year over year, as interest income from loans and investment securities declined. Noninterest income totaled $14.8 million, down about 3%, due to declines in service charges and fees.
