U.S. Bancorp is taking steps to strengthen lending after reporting modest loan growth in the third quarter.
The Minneapolis company said Wednesday that it has added commercial bankers in the New York metropolitan area to pursue middle-market business customers. It has also launched a digital platform for small-business lending.
Still, the $464.6 billion-asset U.S. Bancorp will strive to keep a lid on overall costs as it invests in technology and expansion, Chairman and CEO Andy Cecere said in a news release announcing quarterly results.
“We remain vigilant in our expense discipline while continuing to prudently invest in our core businesses as well as in our digital and payments capabilities,” Cecere said.
Commercial and industrial loans rose 3% from a year earlier, and residential mortgages, credit card lending and auto leasing improved. But total loans rose just 1% because of the sale of a student loan portfolio and weakness in commercial real estate and home equity lending.
However, third-quarter profits rose 16% to $1.8 billion thanks to slightly wider margins and lower taxes.
Earnings per share were $1.06, or two cents higher than an estimate of analysts compiled by FactSet Research Systems.
Net interest income climbed 2% to $3.3 billion. The net interest margin edged upward by 1 basis point to 3.15%.
Noninterest income increased 3% to $2.4 billion as stronger revenue from cards, merchant processing fees and corporate products helped to offset a decline in fees from treasury management, commercial products and mortgage banking.
Noninterest expenses rose 2% to $3 billion, mostly from compensation and employee benefits.
