First Citizens third-quarter net income falls to $606 million, sets $1.2 billion buyback

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (FCNCA) said Friday in a regulatory filing that net income for the third quarter of 2026 was $606 million, down from $672 million in the second quarter. Net income available to common stockholders was $577 million, or $51.23 per common share.

Here's how the company did:

• Diluted earnings per common share: $51.23 vs. $55.52 in the second quarter and $43.08 a year earlier
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share (non-GAAP): $55.37 vs. $57.09 in the second quarter and $44.62 a year earlier
• Net interest income: $1.70 billion vs. $1.66 billion in the second quarter
• Noninterest income: $734 million vs. $776 million in the second quarter
• Noninterest expense: $1.57 billion vs. $1.55 billion in the second quarter

Adjusted figures exclude what the company calls notable items, which are infrequent transactions and certain recurring items, typically noncash. Adjusted net income available to common stockholders was $623 million. The company says these non-GAAP measures should be read alongside GAAP results.

Net interest income and margin

Net interest income rose $43 million from the second quarter, the company said. Interest income on loans increased $88 million.

Interest expense on deposits rose $90 million, the filing said, reflecting growth in Direct Bank and brokered deposits. Net interest margin was 3.07%, down 3 basis points from the second quarter and from 3.26% a year earlier.

Fees, expenses and provision

Noninterest income fell $42 million to $734 million. Other noninterest income dropped $42 million, mainly because of a $37 million decrease in the fair value of equity warrants.

Noninterest expense rose $22 million to $1.57 billion. Acquisition-related expenses increased $10 million with the completion of the BMO branch acquisition, and third-party processing fees rose $12 million.

The company recorded a provision for credit losses of $55 million, against a benefit of $10 million in the second quarter.

Credit quality

Net charge-offs were $103 million, or 0.27% of average loans, down from $108 million, or 0.29%. Nonaccrual loans were $1.37 billion, or 0.87% of loans, at Sept. 30, compared with $1.45 billion, or 0.96%, at June 30.

The allowance for loan and lease losses was 0.91% of loans, down from 0.98%. The company released $48 million from reserves during the quarter, largely because of lower specific reserves and improved credit quality.

Loans, deposits and the BMO branches

Loans and leases reached $157.19 billion, up $6.16 billion or 4.1% from June 30. The company said most of the growth came in the Commercial Bank, mainly in Fund Banking.

Deposits reached $185.26 billion, up $11.84 billion or 6.8% from June 30. Noninterest-bearing deposits were 22.9% of the total, down from 24.5%.

The company completed its previously announced acquisition of 138 branches from BMO Bank N.A. on Sept. 4. First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, its banking subsidiary, assumed about $4.9 billion in deposits and acquired about $650 million in loans. The branches are in the Midwest, Great Plains and West.

Total borrowings fell $7.72 billion to $24.47 billion, mainly on $8.00 billion of payments on the FDIC Purchase Money Note. The note balance was $20.45 billion at Sept. 30, down from $35.85 billion a year earlier.

Buyback and capital

During the quarter the company repurchased 278,828 Class A common shares for $600 million. It also paid a dividend of $2.10 per share on Class A and Class B common stock. Remaining capacity under the 2025 repurchase plan was $711 million at Sept. 30.

On Oct. 23 the board authorized repurchases of up to $1.2 billion of Class A common stock in 2027. The filing says the company is not obligated to buy any minimum number of shares and may suspend repurchases at any time, subject to any Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Chairman and CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. said the new authorization reflects "a testament to our dedication to long-term value creation and returning capital to our stockholders."

The common equity Tier 1 ratio was 10.24%, down from 10.77% in the second quarter. During the quarter the company issued $300 million of Series F perpetual preferred stock.

2026 outlook

The investor presentation projects full-year 2026 net interest income of $6.68 billion to $6.75 billion. It projects a net charge-off ratio of 29 to 31 basis points for the year and 30 to 35 basis points for the fourth quarter.

For full-year 2026 it projects adjusted noninterest income of $2.22 billion to $2.26 billion and adjusted noninterest expense of $5.39 billion to $5.43 billion. It projects loans of $158 billion to $161 billion and deposits of $189 billion to $192 billion at year-end.

The filing does not include earlier projections, so this article cannot say whether they changed.

The company scheduled a conference call for 9 a.m. Eastern on Friday to discuss the results.