Downtown L.A. bank holding company City National Corp., parent of City National Bank, on Thursday reported higher first-quarter net income that fell just shy of investors’ expectations.

After markets closed, the largest Los Angeles County-based bank by assets reported net income of $51.5 million (90 cents a share) for the quarter ended March 31, up 5 percent (4 cents) from the same period last year. Those results fell short of analysts’ consensus earnings estimate of 92 cents per share.

The bank grew its loan portfolio to $15.2 billion and its deposits to $22.4 billion by the end of the quarter, both double-digit percentage increases from the year-ago period. Revenue increased 7 percent from that period to $295 million, though that was a small decline from the previous quarter.

“The fundamental strength of our business and our organization is evident in the fact that loans, deposits and noninterest income all grew at double-digit rates from the first quarter of 2012,” Russell Goldsmith, City National’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Shares earlier closed down 29 cents, or half a percent, to $54.36 on the NYSE.