Britton & Koontz reported a 22% drop in earnings after appraisers wrote down the value of real estate. Britton & Koontz earned $393,111 in the second quarter, or 18 cents per diluted share, compared with $503,851, or 24 cents per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2010. The bank, based in Natchez, Miss., says appraisers reduced the value of real estate by about $244,000. The bank saw interest income fall in the quarter, from $4.7 million to $4.1 million in 2011. But non-interest income doubled, from $711,496 to $1.4 million. B&K warned that while charge-offs for bad loans fell from $2.6 million in the first half of 2010 to $169,838, it has been forced to downgrade six loans in the Baton Rouge market, which have a value of about $15 million. “The downgrade reflects management’s ongoing concern that the Baton Rouge market, which has seen less economic stress than other parts of the Company’s geographic footprint, is showing signs of slower growth and weakened repayment sources,” B&K says.
Poll question: Are you seeing signs of slower growth and weakened repayments in the Baton Rouge market?
