West Coast Bancorp 3Q loss widens

Capital investments raise West Coast Bancorp posts wider 3rd-quarter;

• On 4:11 pm EDT, Monday October 26, 2009

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (AP) -- West Coast Bancorp, which operates banks in Oregon and Washington, said Monday its third-quarter loss widened and it received capital investments of $155 million.

The investments raise its West Coast Bank unit's expected capital ratio above the level required by bank regulators.

The company's shares rose 12 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $2.65 in afternoon trading.

West Coast Bancorp's quarterly results included a steep drop in net interest income stemming mainly from lower interest and fees on loans.

West Coast posted a loss of $12.4 million, or 79 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.3 million, or 15 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 36 cents per share.

Net interest income, or earnings from interest on deposits and loans, fell 19 percent to $19.1 million from $23.7 million.

Non-interest income, or earnings from charges and other banking services such as insurance, jumped to $5 million from $1.1 million.

The company's provision for loan losses more than doubled to $20.3 million from $9.1 million.