Berkshire Hills Bancorp reports Q2 EPS 55c, consensus 57c

CFO David Rosato added, “Second quarter GAAP net income of $23.9 million increased 3% year-over-year, generating an 8.3 percent return on average tangible common equity. The cumulative impact of Federal Reserve Bank interest rate hikes has resulted in higher funding costs for Berkshire Bank and the industry, compressing net interest margins and operating profitability. Net income decreased 14 percent linked quarter, primarily reflecting lower net interest income. Net interest margin of 3.24 percent improved 13 basis points from a year ago, but declined 34 basis points linked-quarter. Further expansion of average loan yields was more than offset by higher deposit and borrowing costs. Period-end loan balances grew 2 percent while deposits were unchanged. The period-end loan to deposit ratio measured 88 percent and the ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets stood at 7.9 percent. Common stock repurchases totaled $12 million for the quarter.”