By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com
Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp. is reporting a net loss $1.52 per share for the second quarter as it absorbs nearly $900 million in losses, primarily from the struggling construction and real estate development markets in west Florida and Arizona. That’s down from a profit of 68 cents a share for the same quarter last year.
Because other areas of the company were profitable, M&I’s total quarterly loss was $394 million, down from a net income of $179 million during the same period in 2007.
In a conference call with analysts, M&I CFO Greg Smith said the bank – Wisconsin’s largest – hadn’t made any subprime loans and should return to profitability in the coming quarter.
For the first two quarters of 2008, M&I had a net loss of $247.6 million, compared to a profit of $347.7 million, from continuing operations for the first half of 2007.
Smith said real estate losses should continue in coming quarters and he predicted construction would remain slow well into next year.
“While we cannot predict if the housing crisis has reached the bottom, we do believe the actions we have taken adequately address the exposure embedded in our housing related construction and development portfolio,” he said.
Smith also said the banking company has healthy reserves to ward off any potential future losses and is better financial condition than most lenders around the country.
See release: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.Iml?Article=131223
