Waterstone Financial second-quarter profits up 14%

Second-quarter profits rose more than 14% for the parent company of WaterStone Bank as lending grew and mortgage originations increased.

Waterstone Financial Inc. posted net income of almost $8.9 million, or 32 cents per share, in the quarter, compared with about $7.8 million, or 29 cents, in the second period of 2016.

"The community banking segment continued to have strong loan growth and improved net interest margin during the quarter,"  Douglas Gordon, chief executive of Wauwatosa-based Waterstone Financial, said in a statement Wednesday. "The mortgage banking segment achieved a quarterly record of $737.9 million in loan originations this quarter, which represents a 9.3% growth rate over the second quarter of 2016.”

Through the first six months of 2017, Waterstone had net income of nearly $15.5 million, up about 33% from $11.6 million in the first half of last year.