Most of Tennessee's biggest banks reported better-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter Friday as stimulus measures continued to boost both deposits and loan demand despite the ongoing pandemic and its economic slowdown.
First Horizon National Corp., the parent company of the biggest bank across Tennessee and in Chattanooga, reported fourth-quarter net income of $242 million, or 42 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 46 cents per share, which easily exceeded Wall Street projections for fourth quarter earnings of 33 cents per share.
Buoyed by its merger with Iberiabank Corp., First Horizon boosted its net income for all of 2020 to $822 million, or $1.89 per share, compared with $435 million, or $1.39 per share the previous year.
"I am so proud of all our First Horizon Chattanooga associates for their unwavering commitment to their clients despite a challenging environment in 2020," said Jay Dale, Chattanooga market president for First Horizon. "We continue to stand ready to assist our clients including the launch of PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) Second Draw Loans that went live this week."
At Chattanooga's second biggest bank, Truist, net income rose in the fourth quarter by 74.9% over the previous year to $1.2 billion, or 90 cents per share.
For all of 2020, adjusted earnings per share for Truist totaled $4.18 billion, or $3.80 per share, which beat the consensus estimate of $3.63 per share but was still down 29.5% year over year.
"In a year of unprecedented challenges for our nation and the financial services industry, I'm extremely proud of our teammates and their rapid and sustained response to meet the needs of our clients and communities," Truist CEO Kelly S. King said. "Despite this difficult environment, our performance was very strong in 2020 and we closed the year on a high point with our best quarter yet in terms of financial performance.
For Regions Financial Corp., which operates the third biggest bank in Chattanooga, fourth-quarter net income increased to $588 million, or 61 cents per share, up from $366 million, or 38 cents per share a year earlier. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected the company to report earnings of 42 cents per share.
Full-year revenue for all of 2020 grew 7 percent while pre-tax pre-provision income increased 11 percent over the prior year.
"At Regions, 2020 was a year of really good execution and outstanding teamwork built around a shared vision of serving customers and communities in helpful and innovative ways," said John Turner, president and CEO of the Birmingham, Alabama-based Regions. "As a result of our team's focus and dedication, we made a meaningful difference for those we serve, while delivering solid financial results, controlling expenses, and proactively managing risks throughout the year."