Cadence Bank used proceeds from the sale of its insurance business to more than offset a large securities sale.
The $48.9 billion-asset bank, with offices in Tupelo, Miss., and Houston, said in a press release that its fourth-quarter net income was more than double that of a year earlier, at $257 million.
Cadence sold its insurance unit in November for $904 million, including a $520 million net gain on sale.
The bank then sold $3.1 billion of lower-yielding securities at a $294.1 million after-tax loss. It reinvested a third of the proceeds into higher-yielding securities and used another $645 million to pay down brokered deposits. The remaining funds are being held as cash, earning 5.4% on Dec. 31.