US Bancorp 1Q Profit Up 28 Percent On Loan Growth

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — U.S. Bancorp said Tuesday its first-quarter profit jumped 28 percent, as the bank set aside less money for bad loans and got a boost from jumps in income from both loans and fees.

The Minneapolis-based bank posted net income attributable to common shareholders of $1.29 billion, or 67 cents per share, up from $1 billion, or 52 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

That beat average Wall Street predictions. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a profit of 64 cents per share.

Total net revenue increased 9.1 percent to $4.93 billion from $4.52 billion, while analysts polled by FactSet expected $4.78 billion.

Net interest income, or money earned from loans, rose 7.3 percent, to $2.69 billion. The company made $56 billion in new loans during the quarter and its average total loans rose 6.4 percent from year-ago levels.

Non-interest income, which comes from fees and other sources, increased 11.3 percent to $2.24 billion, boosted by strong mortgage banking activity, the company said.

The company's provision for credit losses — money set aside to cover souring loans — shrunk 36 percent to $481 million.

With $341 billion in assets as of March 31, U.S. Bancorp operates 3,080 branches in 25 states and 5,061 ATMs.

U.S. Bancorp shares rose 17 cents to $31.32 in morning trading Tuesday. They are near the upper end of their 52-week range of $20.10 to $32.23.

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