Doral reports $3.3M net income increase in 1Q

Although the result reflects a slight year-over-year drop, from the $3.5 million in net income reported for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, Doral reported a decrease in non-performing loans during the first quarter of $54.9 million. For the full year, the company unloaded $300.6 million in bad loans, excluding those guaranteed by the federal government.

“Our earnings results are a direct consequence of our success in improving asset quality and diversifying our business. As we move forward, we will continue to focus on improving our fundamentals and building stable earnings,” said Glen Wakeman, CEO and president of Doral Financial Corporation.

Doral’s move to rid its books of nonperforming loans is in line with what local banks have been doing to regroup from the economic debacle that has hit the industry hard, peaking last year with the closing of three troubled banks.

Earlier this year, Financial Institutions Commissioner Alfredo Padilla said 2011 should be a “turnaround year” for the industry, but that recuperation hinges on clearing away losing loan portfolios.

Doral’s first quarter 2011 loan production was $350.1 million, a number that was mostly flat when compared to $349.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, but up 21 percent from $289.1 million for the first quarter of 2010.

In its quarterly report, Doral attributed the current loan production levels to a drop in residential mortgage loan production of $30.6 million. However, that amount was offset by an increase of $36.3 million in commercial loan production.

Meanwhile, the bank reported a slight growth in retail deposits of $354.5 million, or a 21.8 percent year-over-year increase resulting from its campaign to grab new customers after the consolidation of the market in April 2010.