FNB Corp (NYSE:FNB) stock rose 3.74% (As on January 24, 11:05:12 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted better than expected results for the fourth quarter of FY 22 primarily aided by a rise in net interest income (NII), higher fee income and solid loan demand. Quarterly NII was $334.9 million, up 50% year over year. Growth in average earning assets, including the increase in average loans and leases from organic origination activity, and acquired Howard and Union loans, along with the re-pricing impact of the higher interest rate environment on earning asset yields, was partially offset by higher cost of interest-bearing deposit accounts. The estimate for NII was $315.5 million. The net interest margin (FTE basis) (non-GAAP) expanded 98 basis points (bps) year over year to 3.53%. As of Dec 31, 2022, the common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio was 9.8% compared with 9.9% as of Dec 31, 2021. At the end of the fourth quarter, average loans and leases were $29.4 billion, up 3.5% sequentially. Average deposits totaled $33.9 billion, up marginally from the end of the previous quarter.

Moreover, the ratio of non-performing loans and other real estate owned (OREO) to total loans and OREO increased 1 bp year over year to 0.39%. Total delinquency increased 10 bps to 0.71%. F.N.B. Corp’s provision for credit losses was $28.6 million against a provision benefit of $2.4 million recorded in the prior-year quarter. In the reported quarter, the company recorded net charge-offs to total average loans of 0.16%, up 14 bps from the prior-year quarter.

Further, Commercial loans and leases increased $2.8 billion, or 17.2%, including the decline in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and consumer loans increased $2.5 billion, or 29.0%. PPP loans totaled $25.7 million at December 31, 2022, compared to $336.6 million at December 31, 2021.

FNB in the fourth quarter of FY 22 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 44 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 41 cents, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 37.4 percent to $415.5 million in the fourth quarter of FY 22, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $392.4 million.

Meanwhile, in December, F.N.B. Corp has completed the acquisition of Greenville-based UB Bancorp, including its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Union Bank. The acquisition bolstered the company’s presence in North Carolina and added “low-cost granular deposits,” which will likely be accretive to its financials amid the present economic backdrop.