THE BANK OF N.T. BUTTERFIELD & SON Limited (Butterfield Bank) has reported third-quarter net income of US$11.2 million compared to a net loss of US$18.6 million in the third quarter of 2010.
Net income for the nine months ended September 30 was US$31.4 million instead of a net loss of US$194.8 million for the same period last year.
Bradford Kopp, Butterfield’s president and chief executive officer, said, “The continuing progress across major profit drivers in our business – net interest margin, expense control and credit quality – drives our results this quarter and underscores the progress the bank has made in turning its operations around in the wake of its recapitalization.
“We have now delivered three straight quarters of profitability and our ongoing initiatives give us comfort that both revenues and expenses will improve in the quarters to come.”
Kopp noted that “credit quality has trended positively and we have significantly reduced exposures to continental Europe, with no direct sovereign debt and exposure to the banking sector limited to deposits or government-guaranteed notes”.
“In addition to reduced risk, our balance sheet now boasts capital and liquidity ratios that are amongst the highest in the industry.”
The Bermuda-headquartered bank’s net interest margin improved to 2.46 per cent in the third quarter of 2011, up from 2.02 per cent during the like quarter a year ago.
The bank said the increase was derived principally from disciplined deposit pricing and allocation of investments to longer duration securities.
This improvement was offset by lower income on decreased transaction volumes and a drop in assets under management and administration. (GE)
