(Reuters) – Regions Financial reported a 14% fall in its second-quarter profit on Friday, as the lender earned less from customers’ interest payments.
Some customers have been avoiding taking on debt as the U.S. Federal Reserve has continued to keep interest rates high to curb inflationary pressures.
Regions’ net interest income (NII) — the difference between what a bank earns on loans and pays out on deposits — fell 14% to $1.2 billion in the quarter ended June 30.
The lender said third-quarter NII would be flat to up 2% compared to the second quarter. Regions kept its FY24 NII forecast intact and said it expects the income from interests to “modestly increase” over the second half of 2024.
Regions’ also said it sees commercial real estate-multifamily portfolio stress to be temporary in nature unless faced with economic recession or a significant increase in long-term interest rates.
High rates and problems related to CRE loans at regional lender New York Community Bancorp earlier this year, and more recently at First Foundation, have put the spotlight on default risks, forcing lenders to set aside more in rainy day funds.
Regions’ provision for credit losses, however, came in at $102 million in the quarter, down from $118 million a year ago.
It posted profit of $477 million, or 52 cents per share, in the second quarter, compared with $556 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier.
Shares of the company were down 1.1% before the bell. The stock has fallen nearly 5% in the three months ended June, compared with a little over 2% rise in the S&P 500 Financial index during the same period.
(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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