PNC Financial first-quarter profit meets estimates

[April 12, 2019]  (Reuters) - PNC Financial Services Group Inc's first-quarter profit met analysts' estimates on Friday, as a rise in expenses and provision for credit losses overshadowed growth in interest income and loans.

The lender's expenses rose 2 percent to $2.58 billion, while provision for loan losses more than doubled to $189 million from a year ago.

Net interest income rose about 5 percent to $2.48 billion, helped by higher interest rates.

PNC Financial, one of the largest U.S. lenders by assets, said its loan portfolio grew about 5 percent to about $232 billion, with commercial lending accounting for nearly 68 percent of total loans.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based PNC's net income attributable to shareholders rose 2.7 percent to $1.20 billion in the first quarter ended March 31. Earnings per share came in at $2.61, in line with analysts' expectations, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. [https://reut.rs/2ZaNZvF]

The bank's total revenue rose 4.3 percent to $4.29 billion.

(Reporting by Bharath Manjesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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