FirstMerit Corp fka FMER

[Ecomike]

This is in the after hours headlines tonight, so we should gap way up at the open tomorrow? My guess is $10/share gets blown out of the water on this news!

Note: Common book value is still $17.34/share!

Citizens Republic Bancorp Announces Return to Profitability

FLINT, Mich., July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

* Net income applicable to common shareholders was $18.5 million, or $0.46 per share for the second quarter, which includes a $10 million income tax benefit
* Pre-tax pre-provision profit was $33 million driven by a strong net interest margin of 3.56%, which increased 21 basis points from the second quarter of last year
* Credit trends remain positive
o Total 30-89 day delinquencies were $57 million, remaining around 1% of total outstanding loans for the 2nd consecutive quarter
o Nonperforming assets decreased for the 7th consecutive quarter to $152 million. New inflows to commercial nonperforming loans were below $25 million for the quarter
o Provision for loan losses was $18 million, declining 80% from the first quarter


Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. announced net income attributable to common shareholders of $18.5 million, or $0.46 per diluted share for the three months ended June 30, 2011. This compares to net losses of $74.3 million, or $1.89 per diluted share for last quarter and $44.7 million, or $1.14 per diluted share for the second quarter of last year. Results for the second quarter of last year included net income from discontinued operations of $5.2 million. For the first six months of this year, Citizens recorded a net loss from continuing operations of $44.5 million, compared with a net loss of $120.5 million for the same period of 2010. All prior year shares outstanding and per share calculations have been adjusted in this release to reflect the 1-for-10 reverse stock split that became effective July 1, 2011.

“We are very pleased to report net income for the quarter. Returning to profitability following 12 consecutive quarters of losses after the difficult work that we’ve done and the tireless dedication of our employees is a milestone for our company. These results are driven by our continued focus on pre-tax pre-provision profit and significantly improved credit trends resulting in a lower provision expense. At the same time, we maintained a strong loan loss reserve and improved our capital ratios,” commented Cathleen Nash, president and chief executive officer.

Balance Sheet

Total assets at June 30, 2011 were $9.5 billion,