Cullen/Frost Bankers 3Q Profit Down On Loan Losses

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter profit fell about 9 percent as charge-offs and money set aside for defaulted loans remained high.

Cullen/Frost, a San, Antonio, Texas-based bank holding company, earned $44.7 million, or 75 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That is down from the $49 million, or 83 cents per share, it earned a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected the company to earn a greater 77 cents per share, on average.

Net interest income, or the money a bank receives from interest on assets like commercial and personal loans, rose 4 percent to $144.9 million from $139.7 million. Total noninterest income, or the cash banks make from mortgage load service fees and other fees and charges, fell 10 percent to $69.5 million from $77.3 million.

The company said it set aside $16.9 million to cover loan losses during the quarter, down from $18.9 million a year earlier. But the percentage of loans expected to be troubled increased slightly.