Regions Financial's second-quarter earnings spiked as the Birmingham, Ala., company managed to reduce expenses and problem loans.
Earnings nearly doubled from a quarter earlier and rose more than 400% from a year earlier, to $284 million, mostly because of a 78% decline in the company's loan-loss provision. Nonperforming assets fell 11% from a quarter earlier, to $1.9 billion, marking Regions' lowest level of problematic loans in three years.
Among residential funders, Regions ranks 32nd nationwide, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.
"We continued to make incremental progress on many key fronts and are pleased with the improvement of our financial performance despite considerable economic and political uncertainty, and an uneven economic recovery," Grayson Hall, the company's chief executive, said in a press release. "By focusing on initiatives that we can control, we continue to drive sustainable and prudent growth across our business."
Regions has $122 billion in assets. The bank also sold brokerage unit Morgan Keegan and exited the Troubled Asset Relief Program during the second quarter. The company said that selling Morgan Keegan added $4 million to net income.
