US regional banks Regions Financial Corp and US Bancorp reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Tuesday as they paid less for deposits and had fewer delinquent borrowers. Minneapolis-based US Bancorp beat analysts' expectations, earning just above $1 billion, or 52 cents per share, up from $648 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.
The large Midwestern bank's net interest income - or what it earned in interest payments from borrowers minus what it paid in deposit interest - increased 4.3 percent to $2.5 billion.