Sterling Bancorp reports Q4 EPS 10c vs.(37c) last year

Reports Q4 CET1 capital ratio 13.95%. Thomas O’Brien, chairman, president, and CEO commented: “Sterling’s fourth quarter reflects continuing improvement in our expense management as the government investigations directed at Sterling have been resolved. However, we continued to bear expenses from certain indemnified individuals who are responding to government inquiries. In the fourth quarter, those expenses were approximately $0.7 million, which was more than offset by the receipt of $3.8 million of insurance reimbursements for certain prior invoices. Our directors and officers insurance covering these matters was ultimately exhausted with these payments, and we do not expect any future defense costs to be covered by insurance. We will also continue to bear modest legal, compliance and administrative costs related to our commitments under the Plea Agreement with the DOJ. Our loan portfolio declined throughout the year as we have not introduced new lending products, yet we generally maintained our total assets by increasing our short-term liquid assets at rates above our funding costs. Resulting net income for the quarter and the year further enhanced our strong capital position.”