Washington Trust reports Q3 EPS 56c, consensus 46c

“In the third quarter we expanded our net interest income and margin, grew our wealth management and mortgage banking revenues, delivered strong in-market deposit growth, and prudently managed expenses,” said Washington Trust (WASH) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edward O. “Ned” Handy III. “We made several significant investments to drive future growth, including hiring a new senior executive with an extensive network and proven track record to lead our commercial banking division, and purchasing the client accounts of Lighthouse Financial Management, LLC, which added approximately $195 million of managed assets. In addition, while we resolved two significant credit exposures this quarter, we are confident in our current portfolio quality and that we will continue our long track record of strong credit performance.” The net interest margin was 2.40% in the third quarter, up by 4 basis points compared to the second quarter and up by 55 basis points compared to the same quarter a year ago.