WESTERLY – Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. is hopeful its market-expansion strategy will lead to a bounce back from a slight dip in first-quarter earnings, as profit fell 0.7 percent to $10.9 million, or 64 cents per diluted share, compared with the same period last year.
The parent company of The Washington Trust Co. saw revenue grow 5.2 percent to $47.6 million for the quarter ended March 31.
“Our first-quarter performance reflects our continued success in growing our key business lines through market expansion, de novo branching and acquisition,” said Joseph A. MarcAurele, chairman and CEO, during a conference call with investors on April 27.
The bank recently opened a new branch in Providence and has selected a site in Wellesley, Mass., to open a mortgage-banking office.
First-quarter deposits grew 3.5 percent to $2.9 million. Total assets grew 6.5 percent to $3.8 billion compared with the same period last year. Loans grew 5.8 percent to $3 billion, although the bank did realize a 24.9 percent reduction in residential-mortgage loan origination, which dropped to $138 million. Mortgage loan sales dropped 17.2 percent to $106 million.
MarcAurele says the bank’s mortgage pipeline is at an all-time high.
“We’re optimistic that we’ll see a rebound in mortgage banking,” he said. •
