Butterfield earns Q1 profit of $53.8m
Butterfield Bank has declared net income of $53.8 million, or $1.23 per share, in the first quarter of the year ending March 31, compared with $59.6 million, or $1.34 per diluted common share, for the previous quarter.
The decrease was attributed to lower non-interest income from banking services and higher non-interest expenses because of the impact of a group-wide voluntary early retirement programme executed during the quarter. This was offset by higher net interest income and lower allowance for credit losses.
The bank’s first-quarter profit was slightly higher than the 2024 first-quarter income of $53.4 million.
Core net income was up slightly at $56.7 million, or $1.30 per diluted common share, compared with $59.6 million, or $1.34 per diluted common share, for the previous three months.
Michael Collins, Butterfield’s chairman and chief executive, said the bank’s strong performance in Q1 demonstrated the resilience of its balance sheet, with an expanding net interest margin, higher net interest income, stable core efficiency and effective capital management.
He remained committed to managing Butterfield for the long-term benefit of its clients and communities, while creating value for shareholders across more pronounced economic and interest-rate cycles.
Meanwhile, the return on average common equity in Q1 was 20.9 per cent, while the core return on average tangible common equity was 24.2 per cent.
Net interest income for Q1 was $89.3 million — $0.7 million higher compared with NII of $88.6 million in the previous quarter.
The bank said the increase was because of lower cost of deposits driven by a positive mix shift in deposits to demand from term and higher yields on investments as fixed-rate investments continued to reprice.
These were partially offset by lower yields on loan and treasury assets after interest-rate cuts by central banks during the fourth quarter of 2024, as well as a lower day count in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the fourth quarter of 2024.
Period-end deposit balances were $12.6 billion, a decrease of 1.1 per cent compared with $12.7 billion at December 31, primarily caused by deposit decreases in Bermuda. These were partially offset by increases in the Channel Islands and UK segment, principally because of a weaker American dollar.
Tangible book value per share at the end of Q1 was $22.94, higher than the $21.70 per share at the end of the prior quarter and an increase over the $19.45 at the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Butterfield maintained its balanced capital return policy, with the board again declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per common share to be paid on May 21 to shareholders of record on May 7.
Also during Q1, Butterfield repurchased 1.1 million common shares under the bank’s existing share repurchase programme.
• For more on Butterfield’s first quarter earnings, see Related Media
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