Hudson City Bancorp Inc.'s (HCBK) fourth-quarter profit fell 11%
as the New Jersey regional bank saw net interest income decline and
its loan book showed signs of further deterioration.
The company has continued to struggle with nonperforming loans
and historically low interest rates. Unlike many banks, it hasn't
been able to improve year-on-year results by setting aside less to
cover potential credit losses.
Hudson City reported a profit of $121.2 million, or 25 cents a
share, down from $136.6 million, or 28 cents a share, a year
earlier.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast
earnings of 22 cents.
Net interest income dropped 24% to $251.8 million.
The provision for loan losses was $45 million, unchanged from a
year earlier and down from $50 million in the prior quarter. Net
charge-offs, loans on which banks don't expect to collect, were
0.32% of average loans, compared with 0.25% and 0.33%,
respectively. Nonperforming loans, those expected to go bad, were
2.82% of total loans, up from 1.98% and 2.64%.
-By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240; matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com