Signature Bank on Oct. 18 reported third-quarter net income of $155.4 million, or $2.84 per share, an increase from net income of $124.5 million, or $2.29 per share, in the same quarter in 2017.

The S&P Global Market Intelligence consensus mean estimate for third-quarter GAAP EPS was $2.83.

Net interest income was $324.8 million in the third quarter, up from $308.8 million in the year-ago period. The 5.2% increase is primarily due to growth in average interest-earning assets.

Provision for loan losses fell to $7.4 million in the third quarter, down from $8.0 million in the second quarter and from $14.3 million in the third quarter of 2017.

Net interest margin for the third quarter was 2.87%, compared with 3.04% in the prior-year quarter. Net charge-offs for the third quarter were $11,000, compared with $3.0 million in the linked quarter and $3.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

Total deposits came to $36.09 billion for the quarter, up 7.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Loans, excluding loans held for sale, reached $35.13 billion in the third quarter, compared with $34.15 billion at June 30. The 2.9% quarter-over-quarter increase was primarily driven by growth in specialty finance, commercial real estate and multifamily loans.