- Job Market Politics to Keep Interest Rates Low
- AIG, Symbol of Crisis, Watches Its Stock Zoom Back
- Disney Profit, Sales Top Street Forecasts; Shares Jump
- Bill Gates Praises Apple's Jobs for 'Saving the Company'
- Cities With the Most Home Price Reductions
- Cramer: The Real Reason Stocks Fell Thursday
- Is Euphoric Market Ignoring Warning Signs?
- Video Game Sales Plunge, but Have They Hit Bottom?
- Despite Rhetoric, Obama Has Few Options to Boost Jobs
- Microsoft's Bill Gates Praises Apple's Steve Jobs For 'Saving the Company'
- Gold Is a Bad Inflation Hedge—Like Oil: Stock Picker
- Intel's Andy Bryant Offers An Explanation
- US 'Actively Working' on Weaker Dollar: Fund Manager
- Options Boil on Biotech Buyout Rumors
- Warren Buffett's $100,000 Offer and $500,000 Advice for Columbia Business School Students
- Activision Blizzard's "Modern Warfare 2" Sales Break Records
- 5-Star Manager's 5 Stocks for Changing Markets
- What's The Forecast from Retailers? Proceed With Caution
MOST SHARED
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates Share Their 'Optimism' With Eager Columbia Business Students
- Meet The Leaders of the New Retail Revolution
- Cities With the Most Home Price Reductions
- Disney Profit, Sales Top Street Forecasts; Shares Jump
- Housing Recovery 'Still In Uncharted Territory': HUD Secretary
- Is Euphoric Market Ignoring Warning Signs?
- Warren Buffett's $100,000 Offer and $500,000 Advice for Columbia Business School Students
- Despite Rhetoric, Obama Has Limited Options To Boost Jobs
- Disney CFO and Parks Chief to Swap Roles
Text Size 
Wachovia [WB
Loading...
()
], the fourth-largest U.S. bank, on Monday said first-quarter profit rose 33%, as commercial lending growth and the acquisition of Golden West Financial helped offset thinner margins and higher credit losses.
Net income for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company rose to $2.3 billion, or $1.20 a share, from $1.73 billion, or $1.09 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding merger costs, profit rose to $2.31 billion, or $1.20 a share, from $1.77 billion, or $1.12, a year earlier.
Analysts on average expected profit of $1.16 a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue on a taxable equivalent basis rose 17% to $8.24 billion. Non-interest expense rose 8% to $4.59 billion. Compared with the fourth quarter, profit was roughly unchanged, while revenue fell about 4%, Wachovia said.
Results benefited from a 10% increase in average commercial loans, which helped drive a 27% increase in lending income. Consumer loan growth also rose, though this was largely from acquisitions.
This helped offset a decline in net interest margin to 3.01% from the fourth quarter's 3.09%, and 3.21% percent a year earlier. The bank also set aside $175 million for loan losses, triple the year-earlier amount.
Results included Golden West, an adjustable-rate mortgage lender and 285-branch thrift that Wachovia acquired on Oct. 1 for $24.2 billion.
Like many rivals, the former Golden West has been reporting declining mortgage originations and increasing delinquencies as the U.S. housing market slows.
Ken Thompson, Wachovia's chief executive, nevertheless said the integration of Golden West remains "on track."
Wachovia shares closed Friday at $54.00 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have fallen 5% this year, compared with a 4% decline in the Philadelphia KBW Bank Index.
Consumer and Business Banking Grows
Adding Golden West helped boost consumer and business banking profit 41% to $1.54 billion.
Profit in corporate and investment banking fell 23% to $379 million. Earnings rose 42% to $304 million in capital management and 11% to $65 million in wealth management.
Wachovia expects 2007 growth in consumer loans by a mid-single-digit percentage and commercial loans by a low double-digit percentage, reversing its forecast in January.
Net charge-offs rose to $155 million from $59 million. Assets rose 30% to $706.4 billion.
Print
Email
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates spoke to Columbia students, and Buffett made the students a startling offer.
- They may have wrecked their companies or saved our economy. Tell us what you think.
- Big pharma embraces social media, but how much should a tightly regulated sector say on Facebook or Twitter?
- A European dating site finds lovelorn singles from one country to be consistently uglier. Which is it?
- Contributor David Pogue looks at two of the latest efforts to perfect the digital pocket camera.
- PepsiCo is ramping up its onsite health facilities for workers.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes