Zions Bancorp reports Q2 EPS $1.63, consensus $1.30

Harris Simmons, Chairman and CEO of Zions Bancorp (ZION)oration, commented, “We’re very pleased with the quarter’s strong financial results, with earnings per share up 27% over the prior year period, and adjusted pre-provision net revenue up 14%. The net interest margin continued to improve, increasing to 3.17% from 2.98% a year ago, and customer-related noninterest income rose 7%.” Simmons continued, “Though average deposits were relatively flat, average loans were up 4% over last year. Credit results remained solid, with net charge-offs of only 7 basis points of average loans. While there are some signs of moderate slowing, including a stabilization of housing costs in many western U.S. markets, the economy has performed somewhat better than might have been expected earlier in the year, and we’re incrementally more optimistic about growth in the back half of the year than we’d previously been.”