U.S. Bancorp reported Q2/17 net income of $1,500 million compared with $1,522 million in Q2/16. Total net revenue was a record $5,487 million, up from $5,448 million, or 0.7%, from one year ago.

The following highlights were excerpted from the news release:

• Lease financing average loans of $5,577 million were up 6.1% from $5,255 million in Q2/16.
• Net interest income (taxable-equivalent basis) grew 5.9% year-over-year and 2.4% on a linked quarter basis.
• Net interest margin of 3.04% in Q2/17, up two basis points compared to Q2/16 and one basis point higher than Q1/17, benefiting from rising interest rates partially offset by increasing average cash balances.
• The provision for credit losses was $350 million, up from $327 million a year earlier.
• Average total loans grew 3.4% over Q2/16 and 0.9% sequentially.
• Nonperforming assets decreased 19.3% on a year-over-year basis and 9.8% sequentially.

U.S. Bancorp President and CEO Andy Cecere said, “I’m proud of our solid second quarter performance and our ability to deliver industry-leading results. As an enterprise, we extended our momentum from the first quarter to produce best-in-class performance metrics, including return on average assets of 1.35%, return on average common equity of 13.4% and an efficiency ratio of 55.2%.

“Because of the overall strength and consistency of our financial results, we continued to create value for our shareholders. In the second quarter, we returned 81% of our earnings to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The results of the Federal Reserve’s annual Stress Test demonstrated our ability to withstand – and remain profitable – in periods of economic stress. As part of the CCAR process we announced a dividend increase of 7.1% and a new share repurchase program for the year, maintaining our commitment to shareholders.

“Our balance sheet is strong and our core businesses are well positioned for an economic and regulatory backdrop that has the promise to be more conducive to growth. Our strong revenue base and our dedication to managing expenses positions us well as we head into the second half of the year. I couldn’t be more proud of our dedicated employees who work hard to be our customers’ and communities’ trusted financial partner and to bring this commitment to life every day.”