M&T second quarter profit falls 25%

US Bank M&T, in which AIB has a 24 per cent stake, said today second-quarter profit fell 25 per cent, hurt by credit losses…

US Bank M&T, in which AIB has a 24 per cent stake, said today second-quarter profit fell 25 per cent, hurt by credit losses tied to residential real estate.

Net income for the Buffalo, New York-based company, whose largest investors include Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, fell to $160.3 million, or $1.44 per share, from $214.2 million, or $1.95, a year earlier.

M&T said operating earnings fell 24 per cent to $170.4 million, or $1.53 per share. Analysts on average forecast profit of $1.50 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

M&T set aside $100 million for credit losses, up from $30 million a year earlier, while net charge-offs increased to $99 million from $22 million.

The bank said the latter reflected declining residential real estate valuations, making it harder for homeowners, builders and developers to repay loans. Total nonperforming loans doubled from a year earlier to $587.4 million.
"M&T is not immune to the effects of the higher credit costs evident throughout the banking industry," chief financial officer Rene Jones said in a statement.

The bank nevertheless said results benefited from a 14 per cent increase in average loans and leases to $49.5 billion. Berkshire owned a 6.1 per cent stake in M&T as of March 31st, according to Thomson ShareWatch.

Only AIB and M&T Chief Executive Robert Wilmers owned more.

M&T ended June with $65.9 billion of assets and more than 700 branches in seven mid-Atlantic states and Washington, DC.

Shares of M&T closed Friday at $69.70 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have fallen 15 per cent this year, compared with a 38 per cent decline in the KBW Bank Index.