First Tennessee BankChattanooga’s biggest bank cut costs and boosted profits in the first quarter, beating Wall Street estimates by 4 cents per share.
The Scenic City remained a bright spot for First Horizon, the holding company for First Tennessee Bank, which this year celebrates its 150th year in the banking business.
But much like at the height of the U.S. Civil War when the bank was founded, executives today are fighting a battle against economic malaise and heavy regulations, which combined in the first quarter of 2014 to generate an overall revenue decline of 6 percent.
“The environment continues to be pretty tough in terms of growth,” said BJ Losch, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Memphis-based First Horizon, this week. “We, along with other banks, are finding it more difficult to hold that line.”
First Horizon cut expenses by 8 percent or $20 million year over year to achieve earnings available to common stockholders of $44.8 million, or 19 cents per share. Those earnings beat analyst expectations and also topped first-quarter 2013’s earnings haul of $40.1 million, or 17 cents per share.