Cullen/Frost Suffers Hurricane Woes

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On Jan. 28, 2009, Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR Quote) reported that its Q4 FY08 earnings fell 3.2%, hurt by increased provisions for possible loan losses related to Hurricane Ike, despite increases in interest income and noninterest income. Net income declined to $52.96 million or $0.89 per share from $54.70 million or $0.93 per share in Q4 FY07. The latest quarterly earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.87 per share.

During Q4 FY08, CFR's net interest income (on a tax-equivalent basis) edged up 6.2% to $143.71 million, gaining from higher average volume of interest-earning assets. Furthermore, total average earning assets rose 8.9% to $12.44 billion, while average deposits increased 6.5% to $10.91 billion. Moreover, total average loans spiked 15.2% from $8.71 billion from $7.56 billion in the prior year quarter. Subsequently, net interest margin dipped 10 basis points to 4.60% from 4.70% a year ago. Moreover, noninterest income inched up 4.2% to $69.20 million, while non-interest expense ascended 8.2% to $123.54 million. ...