INSURANCE “CORE REVENUE STREAM” AT FIRST M & F

Kosciusko, MS-based, $1.68 billion-asset First M & F Corporation reported insurance brokerage commissions in the third quarter slid 4.9% to $1.097 million, down from $1.153 million in third quarter 2008, but “remain strong” and a part of the company’s “core revenue stream,” First M & F Chairman and CEO Hugh Potts said. Insurance income was the second largest contributor to noninterest earnings, behind service charges on deposits, comprising 20.4% of that revenue, which slid 2.5% to $5.38 million, up from $5.52 million, helped by $441,000 in securities gains. Fiduciary and brokerage fee income rose 2.6% to $120,000, up from $117,000, to comprise 2.2% of noninterest income. Net interest income on a 3.40% net interest margin dropped 30.8% to $7.49 million, down from $10.83 million, as loan loss provisions more than doubled to $4.81 million, and the company reported a net loss of $580,000 compared to net income of $2.21 million in third quarter 2008. Chairman Potts said, “As we look ahead, we believe the recession is coming to an end, [but] the lagging clean up will extend to 2010. in looking at First M & F there are some trends which are improving, some trends are relatively stable, and some trends are still bothersome and troubling.” In 2008, First M & F Corp reported $4.04 million in insurance brokerage income, which comprised 20.7% of its noninterest income. The company ranked 42nd in insurance brokerage earnings among U.S. bank holding companies with assets between $1 billion and $10 billion, according to the Michael White-Prudential Bank Insurance Fee Income Report.