Whitney posts deeper 4Q loss

Regional banker Whitney Holding Corp.—in line to be acquired by one of its Gulf Coast rivals—posted a $92.6 million loss in the fourth quarter as it moved to unload problem loans, the company says. The per-share loss totaled 96 cents. In the year-ago fourth quarter, Whitney lost $3.7 million, or 4 cents per share. On Dec. 21, Gulfport, Miss.-based Hancock Holding Co. said it would buy Whitney in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at about $1.5 billion. The acquisition, which needs approval by shareholders of both companies and banking regulators, is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter. Whitney says it sold $179 million of nonperforming loans for $88 million in the fourth quarter and also marked another $124 million in nonperforming loans as being for sale, with an estimated value of $75 million. Total loans dropped to $7.23 billion from the year-ago figure of $8.43 billion. Interest income fell to $104.1 million from $111.4 million, while non-interest income—the product of fees—rose to $31.8 million from $28.7 million a year ago. Whitney chief executive John Hope III says with the exclusion of possible merger expenses, he expected the company to have a profitable first quarter and for Whitney “to contribute meaningfully to the long-term success of the Hancock-Whitney combination.” For 2010, Whitney lost $158 million, or $1.64 per share, more than double the 2009 loss of $78.4 million, or $1.08 per share.