Regions Financial Corp. reported a profit for the third quarter on Tuesday as it wrote off fewer loans as uncollectable and the loans that were behind on payment fell.
The Birmingham, Ala.-based company, which operates 23 offices in the Chattanooga area, said it expected new debit card fee regulations to reduce annual revenue by $170 million, but it believes it will be able to make up the reduced revenue over time through increases elsewhere and expense management.
Its shares fell 20 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $3.70 in late morning trading. They have fallen 46.7 percent since the beginning of the year.
The regional bank serving the Midwest and South posted net income of $101 million, or 8 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. A year ago the company reported a loss of $209 million, or 17 cents per share.
Net interest income fell 1 percent to $858 million and the company reported a $1 million loss on securities, compared with a $2 million gain a year ago. Income from fees and other banking services was nearly flat at $746 million.
But noninterest expenses fell 8 percent to $1.07 billion, mostly from a reduction in salaries and benefits as well as lower FDIC premiums. The amount set aside for loan losses was $355 million, down from $760 million a year ago.
The results beat the 4 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Net charge-offs fell 33 percent to $511 million.