Shares of Zions Bancorp.
ZION,
jumped 7.9% after hours on Wednesday after the regional bank reported a profit that topped expectations, with executives citing a rebound in customer deposits but higher resulting costs. The company reported net income of $175 million, or $1.11 a share, compared with $203 million, or $1.29 a share, in the same quarter last year. That was above FactSet estimates for $1.08 a share. Zions reported a net interest margin of 2.92%, slightly above FactSet forecasts for 2.86%. Total deposits were $74.3 billion, down 6% from a year ago but up 7% from the prior quarter. Chief Executive Harris Simmons cited a “rebound in customer deposits over the past three months, but also a higher cost of funds, which reduced net interest income to levels comparable with those of a year ago.” The remarks echoed those a day earlier from United Community Banks Inc.
UCBI,
which said that “industry-wide deposit price competition” — or what banks pay to depositors — drove higher deposit costs and weighed on net interest margins, in the wake of the regional-bank upheaval from Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse this year.
