HSAs boost loan growth for Webster parent

Waterbury-based bank holding company had $57.3 million in earnings during the first quarter of 2017.

WATERBURY >> Solid commercial loan growth helped the parent company for Webster Bank achieve record earnings in the first three months of this year, officials with Webster Financial Corp. said Friday.

The Waterbury-based bank holding company had $57.3 million in earnings, or 62 cents per share, during the first quarter of 2017. That is compared to $44.9 million in earnings, or 49 cents per share, during the first three months of 2016.

James C. Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Webster, said the year-over-year growth in commercial loans was backed by the bank’s health savings account business. Other factors in the recordsetting performance were rising interest rates and an increase in deposits, Smith said in a statement.

“The solid results reflect sustained progress in executing sound growth strategies that maximize value for customers and shareholders,” he said.

Deposits in Webster’s health savings account business, HSA Bank, increased by 17.4 percent between the first quarter of 2016 and the first three months of this year. The total number of health savings account that HSA Bank oversees increased by 20.9 percent between the first three month of 2016 and the first quarter of this year, according to Webster officials.

Despite the bank’s record earnings, the bank saw an increase in the total dollar value of non-performing loans. The term means that the individuals or businesses that took out the loans are not paying the principal and interest based upon the original terms of the borrower agrement.

Total non-performing loans during the first quarter of this year were $173.8 million, or 1.02 percent of total loans. Webster Bank had $140.7 million in nonperforming loans in the first three months of 2016, which represented 0.89 percent of all loans.

Webster stock trades under the ticker symbol WBS on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock closed at $50.26 Friday, an increase of 68 cents over Thursday’s closing price.