Jan 16 (Reuters) - PNC Financial's profit jumped 25% in the fourth quarter, as the U.S. bank earned more from interest payments and cashed in on a dealmaking rebound.
The lender's profit was $2.03 billion,
or $4.88 per share, in the three months ended December 31, it said on Friday. That compares with $1.63 billion, or $3.77 per share, a year earlier.
Global mergers and acquisitions surged past the $5 trillion mark in 2025, marking the second-biggest year on record as looser U.S. antitrust scrutiny and record markets fueled a flurry of megadeals.
PNC's capital markets and advisory revenue jumped 41% to $489 million in the quarter, buoyed by higher M&A activity.
Among deals in the quarter, PNC's Harris Williams advised Warburg Pincus' portfolio company, TRC, on its $3.3 billion sale to Canadian engineering firm WSP Global.
Meanwhile, net interest income - the difference between what it earns on loans and pays out on deposits - rose 6% to $3.73 billion in the quarter.
Healthy loan growth and a decline in deposit costs boosted interest income at PNC, which also continues to benefit from the repricing of fixed-rate assets.
Total revenue surged 9% to a record $6.07 billion in the fourth quarter.
The bank also completed its $4.1 billion acquisition of FirstBank earlier this month, strengthening its presence in the fast-growing markets of Colorado and Arizona.
BUYBACK RAMP
The bank is set to ramp up buyback activity in 2026 as it looks to boost its share price performance.
CEO Bill Demchak said last month PNC was going to be "pretty aggressive" with share repurchases in 2026 as the bank puts excess capital to work.
PNC expects share repurchase activity to be about $600 million to $700 million in the first quarter of 2026.
The bank's stock rose 8.2% in 2025, compared with a 28.8% jump in the KBW Bank Index.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru and Lananh Nguyen in New York; Editing by Maju Samuel)
