Publicly-traded and community banks report healthy Q2 loan growth

Associated Banc-Corp., reported the strongest levels of organic loan growth in the bank's history in 2016. The Green Bay, Wis.,-based bank originated more than $1 billion loans since the beginning of the year, said CEO Philip B. Flynn, in the bank's second quarter results conference call..Associated, which reported 14.6 percent growth in commercial real estate loans in the second quarter, was not alone in noting loan growth as a positive development in 2016. While many of the country's publicly traded banks reported double digit loan growth, community banks across the Midwest noted strong loan growth for the first half of the year as well..Oshkosh, Wis.-based Choice Bancorp, Inc., grew nearly 9.3 percent since the beginning of the year to $303.5 million in assets. "We continued to see strong lending activity in our market area. The growth in our loan portfolio also allowed us to grow our balance sheet," said J. Scott Sitter, president and CEO of the company, which operates Choice Bank, also based in Oshkosh..Choice Bancorp also noted strong growth in mortgage lending for the first half of 2016. New home sales and construction were on the rise in its local residential market. "Our mortgage department has been extremely busy. We believe this trend will continue for the remainder of 2016," Sitter said..Total loans and leases grew $49.0 million in the second quarter for QCR Holdings, Inc., a multi-bank holding company based in Moline, Ill., which also operates in Iowa. "As fee income has been strong, organic loan growth continues to exceed expectations and net interest margin expands further, our operating performance for the first half of 2016 has been solid," said Douglas Hultquist, president and CEO. ."Loan and lease growth for the first six months of the year totaled $124.8 million, or an annualized rate of 13.9 percent," added Todd Gipple, QCR chief operating officer and chief financial officer. "Continued loan growth has helped us exceed our targeted annual organic growth rate of 10 percent to 12 percent while also increasing our loan and lease to total asset ratio to 72 percent, from 67 percent one year ago.".In Minneapolis, U.S. Bancorp's earnings – at $1.52 billion – were up 9.8 percent over first quarter, and up 2.6 percent over second quarter of 2015. "U.S. Bancorp reported strong second quarter results, delivering record revenue and net income in an economy that continues to be challenged by global concerns and low interest rates," said U.S. Bancorp Chairman and CEO Richard Davis. "Steady loan growth, demonstrated by continued strength in commercial loans and momentum in consumer loans, led to increased net interest income despite a decline in net interest margin.".In Kansas City, UMB Financial Corporation announced year-to-date earnings of $73.5 million on June 30. That's up 14.8 percent – from $64.0 million – for the first six months of 2015. "Second quarter results were driven by increased loan volume and balance sheet growth, improved net interest margin and continued progress toward our efficiency initiative," said Mariner Kemper, chairman and CEO. "We have a history of solid, top-tier loan growth and this quarter was no exception, with loans surpassing $10 billion for the first time in the company's history.".Total loans for Midwest banks with less than $500 million in assets were up 7.1 percent in the second quarter compared to a year earlier. For banks between $500 million and $1 billion total loans were up 9 percent. Banks between $1 billion and $5 billion saw 12.9 percent loan growth..The strongest growth category for banks with less than $500 million in assets was farmland and production loans, which grew 7.7 percent compared to second quarter 2015. The strongest loan growth for banks between $500 million and $1 billion, and for those between $1 billion and $5 billion, was commercial real estate. Midsize and large community banks grew 9.3 percent and 12.7 percent in CRE, respectively.