The bank's operating earnings, which excluded a attainment from Visa Inc.'s beginning free offering and restructuring charges, Income loan.

BB&T Corp. on Thursday said first-quarter profits increased 1.7 percent in defiance of a three-fold multiply in its victualling for credit losses.

The Winston-Salem-based bank reported make takings of $428 million, or 78 cents per share, compared with $421 million, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier. "I am glad to bang well-made gold location results, unusually given the non-stop challenges in residential real mansion markets and the broader financial markets," key executive John Allison said in a statement. The bank's operating earnings, which excluded a glean from Visa Inc.'s commencing community donation and restructuring charges, equaled 73 cents per share, like estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

The bank set aside $223 million to retreat unfortunate loans. The furnishing for honesty losses was $71 million in the year-earlier period. Last quarter's provisions were in great measure tied to the residential corporeal caste markets, especially in Georgia, Florida and Washington, D.C., the throng said.

"We skilled significant praise deterioration during the oldest quarter," Allison said. "We persevere to feel that these issues will be manageable." The convention expects charge-offs to rise to 0.55 percent to 0.65 percent of loans and leases, Allison said.

Florida is BB&T's third-biggest mortgage market, behind North Carolina and Virginia, with $2.66 billion in digs loans outstanding, according to the lender's fourth-quarter pecuniary supplement. "They're in markets where it's indurate to leave alone problems," said Adam Barkstrom, an analyst with Stern, Agee & Leach Inc., who has a "sell" rating on BB&T shares.

"We ahead to ascribe to get much worse before it gets better" at U.S. banks. BB&T advanced 96 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $33.56 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

The ancestry has dropped 17 percent in the days 12 months. That's better than the 27 percent lessening in Bank of America Corp., North Carolina's biggest bank, and No. 2 Wachovia Corp.'s 53 percent slide.

BB&T recorded a $30 million emolument in relation with Visa's $19 billion incipient clientele sacrifice at month. The gift was the world's second-largest, trailing only the $22 billion debut of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. -- rick rothacker/bloomberg release Wachovia says operations started at person christen center in Philippines Wachovia Corp.'s rejuvenated client phone center in the Philippines opened stay month and is enchanting calls from customers, a spokeswoman said.

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