Weak economy pushes earnings down at Tompkins Financial

ITHACA — Tompkins Financial Corp. (NYSE Amex: TMP) earned $7.8 million in the first quarter, down 11 percent from a year earlier.

Earnings per share for the period totaled 70 cents, down from 80 cents in the first quarter of 2011.

The continued weak economic climate hurt the bank’s results, President and CEO Stephen Romaine said in a news release. Loan demand remains slow and the low interest rate environment has put pressure on the banking company’s net interest margin, he added.

“We are encouraged that despite pressure on net interest margin, net interest income remained relatively stable over the last 12 months and we continue to see improving trends in credit quality,” he said.

Also during the quarter, Tompkins announced plans to acquire VIST Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: VIST) of Wyomissing, Pa. in an all-stock deal worth about $86 million. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

VIST Financial has $1.4 billion in total assets, $1.2 billion in deposits, and $960 million in loans. It is parent of VIST Bank, VIST Insurance, and VIST Capital Management.

VIST Bank operates as a community bank with 21 branch offices in southeastern Pennsylvania, serving Berks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, and Schuylkill counties.

Tompkins Financial, based in Ithaca, operates 46 offices in the Central, Western, and Hudson Valley regions of New York through three subsidiary banks: Tompkins Trust Co., The Bank of Castile, and Mahopac National Bank. The company also owns insurance and wealth-management subsidiaries and has total assets of more than $3.5 billion.

When the acquisition of VIST Financial is complete, Tompkins Financial will have $4.8 billion in assets, $3.8 billion in deposits, $2.9 billion in loans, and 67 branches.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com