Despite rising interest rates and increased competition, Baltimore?s Mercantile Bankshares Corp. reported on Tuesday what the bank?s top official called a solid second quarter.
The company reported that netincome for the quarter ended June 30 was $73.1 million, marking an increase of 7.7 percent over the net income of $67.9 million for the same period in 2005.
Diluted net income per share was also up 5.4 percent to 59 cents per share compared with 56 cents per share for the same quarter of 2005.
Meanwhile, cash operating earnings increased 10.8 percent to $74.4 million for the second quarter of 2006.
“As I have said in the past, we are not immune from the difficult interest rates and competitive environment facing banks generally,” said Edward J. Kelly III, the bank?s chairman, president and chief executive. “We did manage, however, to grow our net interest income and earnings in the second quarter while dealing with rising liability costs and intense competition for deposits and loans. On balance, I think we had a solid quarter.”
