: Comerica profit drops by 28% but beats Wall Street estimate

Comerica Inc.’s CMA stock rose 1.2% in premarket trading on Friday after the bank said its third-quarter net income fell by 28% to $251 million, or $1.84 a share, from $351 million, or $2.60 a share in the year-ago quarter. The bank was expected to earn $1.69 a share, according to the FactSet consensus estimate. Third-quarter net interest income dropped to $601 million from $707 million and exceeded the analyst forecast of $392 million. Total loans rose to $53.99 billion in the third quarter from $51.1 billion in the year-ago period. Total deposits dropped to $65.9 billion from just under $74 billion. “Through strategic balance sheet management, loans moderated and customer deposits grew, allowing us to absorb $6 billion in wholesale funding maturities,” said Chief Executive Curtis C. Farmer. “Excess cash and significant liquidity capacity provide flexibility as we position ourselves to further prioritize high-return growth in the future .”

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