City National Bank boosts profits with higher lending

Increased commercial lending helped lift profits in the second quarter at City National Bank of Florida, which has been expanding its loan portfolio into Broward and Palm Beach counties.

City National, one of the larger banks based in South Florida, announced Tuesday that its quarterly net income grew to $12.8 million compared with $11.7 million a year ago. Net income in the first six months was $24.1 million compared with $23.4 million during the same period last year, the Miami-based bank said.

CNB’s deposits rose to $4.6 billion in the second quarter, up from $3.9 billion a year ago. Meanwhile, loans grew $725 million in a year to $3.9 billion at the end of the second quarter.

The bank closed $934 million in new loan commitments in the first six months this year, including funding for a trio of several high-profile construction projects in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“The strengthening economy has driven continued growth in commercial lending and deposits,” bank president and CEO Jorge Gonzalez said in a statement.

“We anticipate similar success in the second half of 2015,” he said.

Part of the bank’s strategy has been to increase loans in Broward and Palm Beach counties. The bank’s loan portfolio increased 22 percent in the two counties last year.

So far, CNB’s loan portfolio has grown 32 percent in Broward and 32 percent in Palm Beach County during the first six months of the year. Meanwhile, deposits have increased by 24 percent in Broward and 44 percent in Palm Beach County.

“I think Broward and Palm Beach counties have really rallied,” Gonzalez said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s a market we will continue to invest in.”

Among the new projects, the bank has loaned $12.5 million to construct a two-building retail and dining complex in Pembroke Pines that will include a Twin Peaks restaurant. The new project will break ground near the Shoppes at Pembroke Gardens by the end of August.

The bank also has recently provided a $13 million construction loan for a Davie retail center, Pine Island Marketplace, on 11 acres anchored by a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market.

And CNB awarded an $11.32 million construction loan to the developer of a 116-room Marriott TownePlace Suites hotel in Boynton Beach.

The bank has five branches in Broward and four in Palm Beach County.

By the end of June, the bank had $6.1 billion in assets, compared with $5 billion in assets a year ago.

A Chilean bank has proposed to buy City National — Banco de Credito e Inversiones of Chile. Bci has already been given by the go-ahead by Chilean authorities and only needs the Federal Reserve’s approval.

dgehrke@tribpub.com or Twitter @donnagehrke