KeyCorp reported fourth quarter and full year 2011 net income attributable to Key common shareholders was $194 million and $813 million, respectively compared to net income of $279 million and $390 million for the same periods in 2010. The bank said the results for the full year 2011 reflected lower credit costs and an improvement in non-interest expense as compared to 2010.

Key noted provision credits of $22 million and $60 million in the fourth quarter and full year 2011, respectively versus a release of $97 million in fourth quarter 2010 and a provision charge for loan and lease losses of $638 million for full year 2010.

Chairman and chief executive officer Beth Mooney stated, “Key’s fourth quarter results reflect continued improvement in credit quality and the third consecutive quarter of growth in our commercial, financial and agricultural loan portfolio. We are encouraged by this growth and believe it demonstrates our ability to leverage the alignment of our franchise across business lines to support the needs of our clients. Further, these results confirm our belief that the inflection point for loan growth was reached in the third quarter of 2011.”

The following information was excerpted from the Keycorp news release on Key Equipment Finance:

Fourth quarter 2011 net income of $18 million was down 5.3% compared to net income of $19 million for the same quarter 2010. Net charge-offs were .08% of average loans in the fourth quarter, down from .60% in the fourth quarter 2010. Return on average allocated equity rose to 24.80% compared to 22.04% in the last quarter 2010. Average full time equivalent employees of 517 was up sequentially from 511, but down from 529 in the fourth quarter 2010.