Highlights at the North Carolina bank included deposit service charges, CRE lending and wider margins, which all offset one-time costs related to tax reform.
The Buffalo-based company donated a record $50 million to its charitable foundation to honor its former CEO Robert Wilmers, who passed away in late 2017.
Merger- and tax-related charges took a bite out of fourth-quarter profits at the Cleveland company, but its CEO emphasized that a recent deal and tax reform are promising for growth.
Bank says most of the benefits from tax reform will be used for dividends and buybacks; Michael Loughlin will stay on until his replacement is named later this year.
The Mississippi company reported strong loan growth, even as it reduced exposure to energy-related borrowers. Higher revenue also helped Hancock lower its efficiency ratio.
Executives at U.S. Bancorp and Bank of America plan to use their tax savings to ramp up spending on new technology to stay competitive — but they sought to reassure investors that they would not abandon cost control.
Total loans rose 3% at the Minneapolis bank, but its net interest margin climbed 10 basis points. It also booked a one-time accounting gain of $910 million related to tax reform.
Costs fell less than 1% to $54.7 billion in 2017, and its goal for 2018 is $53 billion. Analysts question whether revenue growth and tax relief will reduce the incentive to get leaner.
