Hudson City 1Q Profit Rises 44 Percent

Hudson City also recorded a nearly 47 percent first-quarter increase in net interest income, the difference between how much it costs a bank to borrow money and how much it receives from lending money to customers. Net interest income grew to $283.8 million from $193.8 million in the year-ago period.

However, Hudson City boosted its first-quarter loan-loss provision to $20 million from $9 million in the fourth quarter, and non-performing loans rose to $320.2 million as of March 31, up from $217.6 million as of Dec. 31.

Nearly all banks have been forced to increase their loan-loss reserves over the past year and a half as customers increasingly default on their loans, especially mortgages and other residential real estate-related loans.

Hudson City's net charge-offs, or loans written off as unpaid, soared to nearly $4.7 million, compared with $469,000 in the year-ago quarter.

Hudson City, which owns 130 Hudson City Savings branches in the New York metropolitan area, reported earnings after its shares rose 80 cents, or about 6.8 percent, to close at $12.53. In after-hours trading, the stock added another 10 cents, to $12.63.