Earnings rise at state banks

Profits up 20% through first 3 quarters of year

Profits were up 20% through the first three quarters of the year for Wisconsin-based banks, a regulator’s report shows.

Altogether, the 204 banks headquartered in Wisconsin had earnings of almost $1.1 billion, compared with $891 million through the first nine months of 2017, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Total loans and leases grew by 3.9 percent during that span, to nearly $84.7 billion from $81.5 billion.

Rose Oswald Poels, president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, said lending has grown every quarter in 2018 when using a year-to-year analysis.

Commercial lending increased by 8.9 percent, while farm loans grew 8.1 percent, she noted.

At the same time, bank deposits grew to almost $90 billion, up 2.9 percent from Sept. 30, 2017.

“These latest FDIC numbers continue to highlight the fact that Wisconsin’s banking industry reflects Wisconsin’s current healthy economy as well as national trends,” Oswald Poels said in a statement.

“Businesses in Wisconsin, including banks, have benefited from federal tax reform, but bankers remain watchful for credit quality issues.”

Green Bay’s Associated Bank, the largest bank based in Wisconsin, posted the highest net income from its banking operations through Sept. 30, at $260.1 million.

Other non-specialty banks with top net income through the first three quarters of the year:

Racine’s Johnson Bank, $41.4 million; Green Bay’s Nicolet National Bank, $30.6 million; Wauwatosa’s WaterStone Bank, $25.1 million; and Fond du Lac’s National Exchange Bank and Trust, $24.1 million.

According to the FDIC, Wisconsin banks recording the biggest losses through the first nine months of 2018 were: Jackson County Bank, in Black River Falls, $9.6 million; Markesan State Bank, $1.8 million; The Equitable Bank, of Wauwatosa, $769,000; State Bank, of Gresham, $287,000; and PyraMax Bank, of Greenfield, $77,000.