MidSouth Bank reports the largest drop in earnings, while IberiaBank boasts income of $14.6 million. Two out of three leading Lafayette banks that made headlines recently for their timely acquisitions are reporting decreased first-quarter earnings.
MidSouth Bank reported the largest drop in earnings, down 61 percent to a $442,000 profit from January to March, according to an Associated Press report published on The Houston Chronicle's website. A year ago, the company posted first-quarter gains of $1.1 million:
MidSouth blamed the drop on $450,000 increase in a set-aside provision for possible bad loans - and a $711,000 decrease in service charges. The company said service charges fell primarily because of fewer bad-check charges.
Home Bank's $795,000 in earnings for the first-quarter is down $670,000 from the fourth quarter of last year and is a decrease of $51,000 from the company's first-quarter earnings report a year ago.
Meanwhile, IberiaBank made $14.6 million during the first quarter, up 12.6 percent. According to The Baton Rouge Business Report's website, IberiaBank's earnings a year ago were $13 million.
A queue of acquisitions for the three Lafayette-based banks started in February when IberiaBank announced its plans to purchase Metairie-based Omni Bank. The announcement came weeks after IberiaBank lost its bid to acquire Whitney Bank, which is merging with Mississippi-based Hancock Bank, and less than three weeks before IberiaBank came back with another press release stating its plans to buy Cameron State Bank of Lake Charles. Amid the two big in-state acquisitions, IberiaBank also revealed it is taking on "certain assets" of Florida Trust Co., a Bank of Florida subsidiary.
Home Bank's plans to acquire Guaranty Savings of New Orleans were announced March 31. The $26.4 million cash buy will allow the 102-year-old Lafayette bank to expand into Orleans and Jefferson parishes and add six branches.
Four days after Home Bank publicly stated its plans, MidSouth reported it will buy five branches of Jefferson Bank in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Read more on the banks' acquisitions in the April ABiz cover story "Shopping Spree."