The big banks doing business in Richmond are making money – a lot of it.
The parent companies of the big super regional banks with a local presence, including Wachovia, BB&T, SunTrust and M&T Bank, all reported huge profits during the second quarter. Banks and financial services firms are major local employers, with office towers downtown and extensive operations in the suburbs.
Bank of America, which has the most market share of any bank in Richmond, didn’t fare so well.
BofA, which controls $10.6 billion in deposits in the Richmond region, lost $8.8 billion in the second quarter. That loss was related to huge charges it paid to settle claims on its mortgage division.
With more than 60 branches in the region, Wachovia/Wells Fargo has the largest physical presence of any of the big players. It reported a $3.9 billion second quarter profit last week, up almost $900 million from the same period in 2010. It controls more than $6 billion in local deposits.
SunTrust, the $172 billion Atlanta-based bank, has 46 branches in Richmond and controls about 5 percent of all deposits in the market. Its profit for the second quarter was $174 million.
BB&T, which has the second largest branch presence in Richmond with 48, reported a $307 million profit for the second quarter. It had $159 billion in total assets at quarter’s end.
M&T Bank, headquartered in Buffalo, is the relative newcomer among the big bank players in Richmond. It entered the market two years ago when it acquired the former Provident Bank and has seven branches locally.
M&T last week reported a $297.1 million profit for the second quarter, its 140th consecutive quarter in the black.
The big bank profits also bode well for employment in the region. BofA, Wachovia and Capital One have all announced major expansions and new jobs in the region within the past 10 months. (You can read about that here, here and here.)
Although the big banks don’t break down profits on the local level, Hugh Newton, M&T’s Richmond regional president, said banks big and small are fighting deals locally.
“We’re certainly seeing strong competition,” Newton said. “There are few good deals, so everybody competes hard for those deals.”
The struggles of some local community banks present an opportunity for big banks like M&T, Newton said.
M&T, for example, continues to make commercial real estate loans and industrial loans, the type of lending that some smaller community banks are having to back off from because of pressure from regulators.
But like their smaller community bank brethren, the big banks are far from immune to problem loans.
Wells Fargo, for example, had $27.9 billion in non-performing assets as of June 30. SunTrust’s NPAs stood at $4.1 billion, and BB&T reported $3.3 billion.
M&T, which has $77 billion in total assets, reported $1.4 billion in NPAs for the second quarter.
Michael Schwartz covers banking for BizSense. Please send news tips to [email protected].
The big banks doing business in Richmond are making money – a lot of it.
The parent companies of the big super regional banks with a local presence, including Wachovia, BB&T, SunTrust and M&T Bank, all reported huge profits during the second quarter. Banks and financial services firms are major local employers, with office towers downtown and extensive operations in the suburbs.
Bank of America, which has the most market share of any bank in Richmond, didn’t fare so well.
BofA, which controls $10.6 billion in deposits in the Richmond region, lost $8.8 billion in the second quarter. That loss was related to huge charges it paid to settle claims on its mortgage division.
With more than 60 branches in the region, Wachovia/Wells Fargo has the largest physical presence of any of the big players. It reported a $3.9 billion second quarter profit last week, up almost $900 million from the same period in 2010. It controls more than $6 billion in local deposits.
SunTrust, the $172 billion Atlanta-based bank, has 46 branches in Richmond and controls about 5 percent of all deposits in the market. Its profit for the second quarter was $174 million.
BB&T, which has the second largest branch presence in Richmond with 48, reported a $307 million profit for the second quarter. It had $159 billion in total assets at quarter’s end.
M&T Bank, headquartered in Buffalo, is the relative newcomer among the big bank players in Richmond. It entered the market two years ago when it acquired the former Provident Bank and has seven branches locally.
M&T last week reported a $297.1 million profit for the second quarter, its 140th consecutive quarter in the black.
The big bank profits also bode well for employment in the region. BofA, Wachovia and Capital One have all announced major expansions and new jobs in the region within the past 10 months. (You can read about that here, here and here.)
Although the big banks don’t break down profits on the local level, Hugh Newton, M&T’s Richmond regional president, said banks big and small are fighting deals locally.
“We’re certainly seeing strong competition,” Newton said. “There are few good deals, so everybody competes hard for those deals.”
The struggles of some local community banks present an opportunity for big banks like M&T, Newton said.
M&T, for example, continues to make commercial real estate loans and industrial loans, the type of lending that some smaller community banks are having to back off from because of pressure from regulators.
But like their smaller community bank brethren, the big banks are far from immune to problem loans.
Wells Fargo, for example, had $27.9 billion in non-performing assets as of June 30. SunTrust’s NPAs stood at $4.1 billion, and BB&T reported $3.3 billion.
M&T, which has $77 billion in total assets, reported $1.4 billion in NPAs for the second quarter.
Michael Schwartz covers banking for BizSense. Please send news tips to [email protected].