Northern Trust Corp.'s (NTRS) fourth-quarter earnings dropped
22% as persistently low interest rates constrained the
trust-and-custody bank's interest income and trust fee levels.
Shares dropped 3% to $53.95 in premarket trading as the results
fell short of estimates.
Meanwhile, peers Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) and State
Street Corp. (STT) both reported better-than-expected adjusted
earnings as assets under management grew.
Northern Trust, which provides investment management and other
services to affluent people and institutions, reported a profit of
$157.1 million, or 64 cents a share, down from $200.3 million, or
82 cents a share, a year earlier. Absent a benefit related to a
settlement with Visa (V), earnings were 59 cents a share.
Revenue dropped 5% to $906.4 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast
earnings of 71 cents on $922 million in revenue.
Total assets under management rose to $643.6 billion from $627.2
billion a year earlier but fell from $657.2 billion in the third
quarter. The provision for credit losses was $40 million in both
periods. Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans and
leases increased to 1.18% from 1% a year earlier.
-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909;
Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com