Paul Gores
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 20, 2010
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Wisconsin banks regained some financial footing in the first quarter as about one in seven lost money, compared with one in three in the final quarter of 2010.
Forty-two of the 281 banks chartered in the state were unprofitable in the period ended March 31, led by Wisconsin’s biggest bank — M&I Bank — with a $111.6 million loss, according to figures released Thursday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. In the fourth quarter, 93 banks finished in the red.
Racine’s Johnson Bank made the most money among non-specialty banks in the state, with a profit of more than $5 million.
Wisconsin banks, like financial institutions nationwide, have been forced to set aside more money to cover loans that could go bad in the weak economy. Adding money to reserves cuts directly into a bank’s profits.
When the financial results of all banks — profitable and unprofitable — are tallied, Wisconsin banks overall lost $37.4 million in the first period, compared with a loss of $418.5 million in the fourth quarter.
Bank analyst David L. Donihue noted that if the results of the nine biggest banks, including five that lost money in the quarter — M&I, Associated Bank, AnchorBank, Guaranty Bank and WaterStone Bank — are removed from the total, the rest of Wisconsin’s banks had a profit of $97.2 million.
Lending was down about 3 percent from fourth quarter, and off more than 10 percent from the first quarter of 2009.
The ratio of noncurrent to total loans worsened slightly, to 4.68% from 4.58 percent in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter of 2009, it was 3.44 percent.
After Johnson Bank, the institutions with the highest net income in the quarter were Tri City National Bank of Oak Creek, $4.7 million; National Exchange Bank & Trust of Fond du Lac, $3.4 million; First National Bank of Waupaca, $3.1 million; Bremer Bank of Menomonie, $2.4 million; and Bank Mutual of Brown Deer, $2.3 million.
Behind M&I, banks with the biggest losses for the quarter were Associated of Green Bay, $19.8 million; AnchorBank of Madison, $15.3 million; Guaranty Bank of Brown Deer, $11.4 million; Citizens Bank of Mukwonago, $3.3 million; and Eagle Valley Bank of St. Croix Falls, $1.7 million.
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