Signature Bank announced its net income for Q3/18 was $155.4 million, up 24.8% from $124.5 million for Q3/17. The bank said the year-over-year increase in net income was primarily due to an increase in net interest income and a decrease in the provision for loan losses and income tax expense.

Net interest income for Q3/18 reached $324.8 million, up $16 million, or 5.2%, when compared with Q3/17. This increase is primarily due to growth in average interest-earning assets. Total assets reached $45.87 billion at September 30, 2018, an increase of $4.54 billion, or 11.0%, from $41.33 billion at September 30, 2017.

The bank’s provision for loan losses for Q3/18 was $7.4 million compared to $14.3 million for the 2017 third quarter. Net charge-offs for Q3/18 were $11,000, or less than one basis point of average loans on an annualized basis, versus $3.8 million, or 0.05% for Q3/17.

Non-accrual loans were $134.2 Million, or 0.38% of total loans, at September 30, 2018, versus $376.9 Million, or 1.21%, at the end of Q3/17. Excluding taxi medallion loans, which were all placed on non-accrual in Q2/17, non-accrual loans were $22.5 million, or six basis points of total loans

“During the past few quarters, Signature Bank has executed several growth initiatives paving the way for the future direction of this institution. These strategies include taking our successful single-point-of-contact model outside of the metro-New York area – where we spent 17 years building the foundation of our business – and bringing it to San Francisco after we identified a glaring need. In the 2018 first quarter, we appointed a digital asset banking team because we want to be nimble and ready to change as the market evolves. Just recently, we hired a nine-person team focusing on capital call and subscription finance for private equity firms. And lastly, we have been heavily investing in our infrastructure with the implementation of new systems for loan operations (now in place), credit approvals and foreign exchange as well as an enhanced payments platform,” explained Joseph J. DePaolo, president and CEO.

“Our success since our founding in 2001 is predicated on our ability to attract seasoned bankers who serve as client contacts for all banking needs. This client-centric philosophy is at the crux of all we do. The advancements we are making are all accomplished with client satisfaction at their core. At the same time, we are expanding our reach in new business activities, geography and capabilities. We must take measured risks to fuel future growth, but they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction. We believe the initiatives upon which we are embarking today will set the stage for the Signature Bank of tomorrow,” DePaolo concluded.