City National Profit Better Than Expected

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City National Corp.’s second quarter profit rose 15 percent as the parent of Los Angeles County’s largest locally based bank increased both interest income and deposits.

After the markets closed Thursday, the holding company of City National Bank reported second-quarter net income of $47.5 million (88 cents per share), compared with $41.3 million (78 cents) a year ago.

Revenue fell 7 percent to less than $283 million. Net interest income rose 5 percent to $195 million. Noninterest income fell 2 percent to $91.9 million despite a pretax gain of $8.2 million from the April 8 acquisition of Nevada Commerce Bank.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected the company to report per-share profit of 77 cents on revenue of more than $263 million

Average deposit balances grew 3 percent to a record $18.8 billion. Average balances for commercial loans rose 8 percent, due to both organic loan growth and the bank’s purchase of a $170 million portfolio of asset-based lending facilities. The company recorded no provision for loan losses in the quarter, excluding loans covered by FDIC loss-sharing agreements.

“City National just completed its best quarter in more than three years with improvements across the board in loans, deposits and credit quality,” Chief Executive Officer Russell Goldsmith said in a statement.

Shares on Friday were down 42 cents, or less 1 percent, to $54.72 on the New York Stock Exchange.