TCF Financial profit slides on more credit losses

TCF Financial 3rd-quarter profit slides on higher credit losses, missing Wall Street estimates

• On 10:57 am EDT, Wednesday October 21, 2009

WAYZATA, Minn. (AP) -- Regional bank holding company TCF Financial Corp. said Wednesday its third-quarter profit fell 42 percent on higher credit losses.

The result missed Wall Street expectations, sending shares of TCF Financial lower.

TCF reported quarterly net income of nearly $17.5 million, or 14 cents per share, down from a profit of $30.1 million, or 24 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast a profit of 16 cents per share in the latest quarter.

Net interest income rose 6 percent to nearly $161.5 million, and total banking fees increased 4.6 percent to nearly $111.7 million.

But the Wayzata, Minn.-based parent of TCF Bank boosted its provision for credit losses by 45 percent to $75.5 million. Charge-offs, or loans being written off as unpaid, nearly doubled to $57.2 million from almost $30 million.

"The third quarter continued to pose many challenges for TCF and other banks as the effects of high unemployment and the resulting increase in consumer defaults and softness in spending continue to pressure earnings," said William Cooper, TCF's chairman and CEO.

Shares of TCB fell 90 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $13.42 in morning trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $8.74 to $19.24 over the past year.

TCF Bank has 443 branches in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin, Indiana, Arizona and South Dakota.

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