Two LI banks report boost in profits

Two local banks reported a boost in second quarter profits Wednesday.

The figure was a 9.8 percent increase over the same period last year, when the Westbury banking company reported profits of $119.5 million. It is also up from the previous quarter, when the bank's profits were $118 million.

“Our earnings rose as loan demand grew in our traditional market -- multifamily lending -- and in the nationwide market for one-to-four family loans served by our mortgage bank,” NY Community Bancorp chief executive Joseph Ficalora said in a news release.

The bank saw a significant increase in its revenue from mortgage banking, where income rose to $58.3 million. That figure was $11.7 million for the same period last year.

The company also announced it would pay 25 cent cash dividend to all its shareholders.

NY Community Bancorp operates 242 branches of New York Community Bank and 34 offices of New York Commercial Bank in the Northeast region.

Meanwhile, the much smaller Islandia-based Empire National Bank reported that its net income for last quarter was $2.7 million -- about a fivefold increase from the company's profit of $442,000 in the second quarter of 2011.

The surge in earnings was boosted by a one-time tax benefit of $1.2 million and securities sales also worth up to $1.2 million, the company said.

Empire National Bank operates three branches, in Islandia, Shirley and Port Jefferson Station.