City National Corp. reported a nearly 5 percent decline in its 2007 net income after the parent of City National Bank made its first loan loss provision in almost four years.

The Beverly Hills-based bank reported annual net income of $223 million, a decline of 4.6 percent from the previous year. Earnings per share were $4.52, down from $4.66 a year earlier. Revenue grew to a record $911.5 million, an increase of 7 percent.

The bank set aside $20 million for loan losses, but Chief Executive Russell Goldsmith noted they were not related to subprime mortgages and said in a statement, “given the challenging economic environment, 2007 was a solid year for City National.”

“After almost four years of no loan loss provisions and in light of current economic conditions and their impact on a small number of our loans, we made a 2007 provision for potential loan losses,” Goldsmith said. “It is worth emphasizing that City National has no subprime loans, no subprime CDOs and no concerns with credit card debt, home equity loans or its money market funds.”

Shares of City National were up 5.1 percent, or $2.70, to $55.45 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.