Taylor Capital Group's quarterly profit rose as revenue from its mortgage-banking operations remained strong.
The Chicago company reported first-quarter earnings of $17.3 million Friday, an increase of 81% over the first quarter of 2012. Per-share earnings of 44 cents missed analysts' expectations by 9 cents, as margins on mortgage originations and sales fell from "historically high" levels in the fourth quarter, the company said in the earnings release.
Noninterest income rose by 72% compared with the first quarter of 2012, to $39.7 million, as mortgage-banking revenue increased by $14.5 million. Taylor Capital's income from mortgage origination more than doubled, to $1.9 billion, and mortgage servicing income rose as it expanded its portfolio of mortgage-servicing rights by more than a third, to $106.6 million.
Net interest income rose 14%, to $40.7 million, mainly because of lending growth and a $60 million debt repayment, the company said. Net interest margin contracted by 8 basis points, to 3.12%. Taylor's provision for loan losses fell to $300,000 from $7.4 million.
Taylor Capital, with $5.8 billion of assets, is the parent of Cole Taylor Bank, which has 11 branches in Illinois.
