Britton & Koontz and MidSouth Bank both posted significant drops in third-quarter earnings as the two community banks continued to deal with the recession. The parent company of Britton & Koontz bank reported third-quarter earnings were down 66% from last year, which it blames on a special FDIC assessment and higher provisions for loan losses. The Mississippi-based bank says it earned $324,195, or 15 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter, compared with $943,080, or 45 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2008. Interest and non-interest income was down 8%, from $6.4 million in the third quarter of 2008 to $5.9 million.
The parent company of Lafayette-based MidSouth Bank posted a 23% decrease in third-quarter profit as businesses continued to hold off on borrowing money. For the three months ending Sept. 30, MidSouth earned $1.4 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with year-ago earnings in the third quarter, which were $1.86 million, or 28 cents per share. MidSouth blamed the earnings drop on customers being in a “wait-and-see” mode. It also says it had $15.5 million in non-performing loans during the quarter, with $12.6 million coming from two commercial loans in Baton Rouge. MidSouth saw a 6.2% drop in interest and non-interest income, which went from $17.6 million in the third quarter of 2008, to $16.5 million this year.
